TOP 16 ALBUMS: THE SOUR 16 (November 2017)

As we enter the countdown to Christmas and with a mere 17 days to go it is time to present 16 of the best albums from September, it is time for your SOUR 16. 

You know the drill by now, each month you the reader are unwittingly compiling a list of the top16 records of the month, covering all genres of metal.  Is it not a chart, in which reviewers or contributors extol their opinion about their favourite music.  To put it simply, THE SOUR 16 are the records that have been trending the most at SLUDGELORD HQ.

The results are compiled based on the amount of page views the reviews have received and are then calibrated into the list below.  All reviews can be viewed by clicking the artwork and we have included album streams wherever possible. (Total views since their publication are highlighted in the red)

16). Sect – “No Cure for Death” (823)

Sect have set the standard for hardcore music and what it should aspire to in 2017. If you’re looking to heavy music with a message, look no further than “No Cure for Death”.

15). Slabdragger & Wren - “Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” [Split] (874)

Both bands deliver the best kind of cover version; one that takes the source material and imbues it with their own unique spirit to create something new and exciting.  An essential purchase for any fans of the UK heavy underground and maybe it’ll turn some old Zappa and Beefheart heads towards the sludgier side of life too

14). Cannibal Corpse - "Red Before Black" (938)

Once again, Cannibal Corpse have crushed all in their wake and returned as conquering anti-heroes of the death metal genre.  Cannibal Corpse remain the death metal band by which many other death metal bands are judged and remain my go-to band of choice if I want to listen to something extreme, violent, uncompromising and also oddly, inexplicably, insanely listenable.

13). Hooded Priest - "The Hour Be None" (959)

This is doom metal that will appeal to anyone with a sense of theatre and anyone who wants to bang their head as well; there is some great metal on offer here. Huge and sprawling in its ambition, “The Hour Be None” is a doom tour de force and I recommend it highly.

12). Amenra - "Mass VI" (1054)

Amenra’s music is real and comes across as brutally honest. The formula (sonic + emotional heft) = (a heavy album) is one that’s been done many times before, but what Amenra does that sets them apart from the pack is the diligence they use when drinking from the well of inspiration. Amenra makes their listener feel and live with them. This keeps Amenra in touch with why they started making music in the first place. It’s this artistic integrity that helps make “Mass VI” what it is. 

11). Pale Horseman - "The Fourth Seal" (1084)

Pale Horseman offers a special sort of heft to their music, with mesmerizing guitars convulsing, vocals crunching  and the drums creating a war beat that is stifling in weight.

10). Fister & CHRCH – “Fister/CHRCH” (Split LP) (1120)

Over the course of nearly forty minutes, CHRCH and Fister, employing different sonic palettes and lineups, craft a perfect split for the moment: unholy, polluted, funereal and dismal – a requiem for humanity’s end times that is as beautiful as it is ugly.

9). Manilla Road - "To Kill A King" (1205)

In summary, To Kill A King is a superb and epic metal album, forged from the finest steel.

8). Dead Quiet – “Grand Rites” (1255)

All of the nuance and balance on this record really make it an experience that never bogs the listener down. It is for these reasons, that Dead Quiet’s “Grand Rites” is one of the best Canadian Metal records of the year.

7). Purple Hill Witch - "Celestial Cemetery" (1256)

From the Deep Purple-indebted organ intro, to the bluesy pentatonic riffing, there’s no doubt that the latest LP from Norway’s Purple Hill Witch is pure retro-metal worship.  The pervasive garage metal swagger elevates some pretty raw material and proves that they have the chops to be a really excellent outlier in the doom metal underground

6). Clouds Taste Satanic - "The Glitter of Infinite Hell" (1381)

Clouds Taste Satanic’s blend of doom, stoner and sludge chords, capacious basslines and drums set an imposing climate that sets them  apart from their peers. Each cut here feels distilled down to the pitched greatness of its many influences. Guitars simmer like the hunt during a horror movie and by the albums conclusion, chances are your mind will be thoroughly mashed.

5). Converge - "The Dusk In Us" (1897)

Today, with random acts of violence, anger and pessimism dotting our timelines, maybe Converge just now seems like a soundtrack to our contemporary apocalypse

4). Godflesh - "Post Self" (2301)

It may be a disturbing, challenging last will and testament of humanity’s futurist hopes and dreams, but “Post Self” is an invigorating, complex, and honest piece of industrial metal.  Perhaps most importantly, in a genre that can be glutted with repetitive speed metal riffs and samples of shouting despots, Godflesh stands as one of the smartest bands working today.

3). Norilsk - "Le Passage des Glaciers" (2752)

French canadian doom duo Norilsk return from a two-year layoff with a surprising new album, one that gives a reengaged sound to the pair's signature style.  Norilsk manages to be bold without being alienating, and that is indeed refreshing.

2). Electric Wizard - "Wizard Bloody Wizard" (9121)

 “Wizard Bloody Wizard” transcends whatever the in-thing of the moment is, and focuses instead on musicianship, the album's all-analog approach creates a warm, vintage sound for the songs and on the whole Electric Wizard feels re-energized, whilst  remaining true to their seedy pedigree

1). Morbid Angel - "Kingdoms Disdained" (28760)

This album is a statement of intent, placing the focus on convulsive rhythm changes and dissonant, jagged riffs over accessibility.  ‘Kingdoms Disdained’ is Morbid Angel's most uncompromising album of their career and their best album in nearly twenty years, and I don’t consider that light praise.

A big thank you as always to our amazing writers, your dedication knows no boundaries and for that I am truly grateful.  Novembers 2017’s “SOUR 16” features reviews by:  Richard Maw, Ernesto Aguilar, Daniel Jackson, Mark Ambrose, Victor Van Ommen, Charlie Butler & Mark Tremblay

ALBUM REVIEW: Clouds Taste Satanic - "The Glitter of Infinite Hell"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 31/10/2017

Label: Kinda Like Music

Clouds Taste Satanic’s blend of doom, stoner and sludge chords, capacious basslines and drums set an imposing climate that sets them  apart from their peers. Each cut here feels distilled down to the pitched greatness of its many influences. Guitars simmer like the hunt during a horror movie and by the albums conclusion, chances are your mind will be thoroughly mashed.

"The Glitter of Infinite Hell" CD//DD//LP Track listing

1. Greed

2. Treachery

3. Violence

4. Wrath

The Review:

Brooklyn's Clouds Taste Satanic rocketed to popularity seemingly right out of the gate in 2014, with its two-song, 44-minute debut "To Sleep Beyond The Earth." The immense sound and necrotic landscapes painted by the all-instrumental vision of Clouds Taste Satanic's music of that moment proved to be beguiling to so many listeners. The four-piece continued its streak with 2015's "Your Doom is Here" and 2016's "Dawn of The Satanic Age." Each successive recording continued the onslaught, barreling at you with sheer centrifugal force. That guttural rumbling and infernal place setting is a rare bar few bands achieve. So when word of the group's four-song, 72-minute-plus return this year began floating around, there had to be some apprehension. Although the band is still just below the surface, countless media have crowned Clouds Taste Satanic as malevolent royalty. But can the thorny crown stay with New York's finest?

Clouds Taste Satanic constructs its cauldron of sound with the dual guitars courtesy of Steven Scavuzzo and Brian Bauhs, Greg Acampora on drums and Sean Bay on bass. Their blend of doom, stoner and sludge chords, capacious basslines and drums that set an imposing climate that has set it apart early in its career. Its many elongated jams have also drawn accolades, because of the overall quality of what they do. Each cut feels distilled down to the pitched greatness of its many influences. When you go back and hear "Dawn of the Satanic Age," you catch the elements of this artistry – complex progressions and impenetrable soundscapes made that an oft-discussed release. This time, "Greed" is your opener, and its guitars simmer like the hunt during a horror movie, barely moving beyond a brisk walk for much of the track. That slugging movement is still a lightless march, with even a harrowing solo 13 minutes in barely moving the needle from atramentous. By the conclusion, which winds back as an epilogue, chances are your mind has been thoroughly mashed.

The trenchant "Treachery" signals your descent with one of the best bass attacks you will get this year. Guitars circle like vultures, as the drums rain down. Before long, Clouds Taste Satanic hand out some of its signature intricacies, as moods swing from harder, faster rhythms into a more disinclined pace.  Midway, you are on a mystical trip to nowhere good. Again, Bay sets the tone well, bludgeoning the listener with his wide bass trajectory. This has almost classic quality to it, and is the most haunting song of the collection.

"Violence" and "Wrath" round out the new album, and are, as you might have guessed, Circles of Hell in the Inferno of Dante's "Divine Comedy." "Violence" is exactly as you might have expected, while offering aspects you do not. A deeply degenerate escalation of noise greets you without the viciousness you might assume. Instead the track advances with Bauhs and Scavuzzo's seething guitar contours. The song gets a big boost with its threatening rhythm section, until finally shaking down to its bitter end. "Wrath" leaps out with a concentrated nadir of heaviness, almost from the start. Its arc is unique in how the group lays it out, bringing forth the spirit of true-school doom while making its own original blends to the brew. Hints of psychedelica and post-rock flail about at the midpoint, before settling in on a contemplative, plodding groove. It is a satisfying end to a superlative return.

"The Glitter of Infinite Hell" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Clouds Taste Satanic - 'Your Doom Has Come' (Album Review)

By: Chris Tedor

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/09/2015

Label: Self Release

‘Overall a very strong follow up for Clouds Taste Satanic, releasing two great albums within such a short time-frame of each other is an impressive feat and let's hope they can keep this pace up and start some heavy touring. If this is your first introduction to Clouds Taste Satanic I STRONGLY suggest you pick up their debut “To Sleep Beyond the Earth” as well, because it is also excellent.’

‘Your Doom Has Come’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Ten Kings

2). One Third of the Sun

3). Beast from the Sea

4). Out of the Abyss

5). Dark Army

6). Sudden...Fallen

The Review:

The opening bars of “Ten Kings” let you know right off the bat what you are in for. A slow building menacing riff opens up into a doomy vista stretching across the horizon. The drums kick back into a harder Sabbath-esque mid paced riff. The second track “One Third of The Sun” picks up the tempo a bit with a chugged rhythm figure over bouncing drums. What would function as a chorus on this song is a pretty awesome southern-sludge riff with a nice lead. By far the shortest song on the album clocking in at 4:24, this might be the strongest song with a perfect head nodding flow and I'm sure it crushes live.  The third track “Beast From The Sea” is a huge epic riff salad that moves through huge amounts of sonic territory through its length. My favorite part of the track is about 2:17 in Clouds Taste Satanic does a nice tremolo picked lead over a moving sludge riff and bouncing drums. Another highlight of this track is the pedal tone riff bridge section that covers most of the fifth minute. Some enlightened song writing displayed here.

“Out of the Abyss” moves into some more rockish territory with some Kyuss style riffs around the midway point. Continuing this trend the fifth track “Dark Army” also has some more stoner rocky fast sections interspersed with some heavy atmosphere. What really shines on these two tracks is some excellent rolling drumbeats with perfect changes throughout the different feels. The solo near the end of “Dark Army” is fantastically spacey and recalls some of Earth's more western feels. A touch shorter then it could be but still really cool. The final track “Sudden...Fallen” begins with an eerie building riff that moves into a hardcore influenced stoner riff. I really like how the band brings the opening riff back into a movement into the final section which begins with a riff that sounds somewhat familiar to something Unida did off of their last unreleased yet leaked album “The Great Divide.” A fitting end for a great release.

The production on “Your Doom Has Come” sounds improved with a little more expansive stereo mix and a slightly improved balance on the instrumentation. The tones here remain similar to their last release except a touch better sounding reverb when used on the lead guitar. In addition, the rhythm playing and rhythm section feels a bit tighter on this release. Overall a very strong follow up for Clouds Taste Satanic, releasing two great albums within such a short time-frame of each other is an impressive feat and let's hope they can keep this pace up and start some heavy touring. If this is your first introduction to Clouds Taste Satanic I STRONGLY suggest you pick up their debut “To Sleep Beyond the Earth” as well, because it is also excellent.

‘Your Doom Has Come’ is available here

Band info: Facebook | Bandcamp

Clouds Taste Satanic - “To Sleep Beyond The Earth” (Album Review)

Album Type: Full-Length

Date Released: 14/5/2014

Label: Self-Released

“To Sleep Beyond The Earth” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). To Sleep Beyond The Earth (Parts I & II) (22:39)

2). To Sleep Beyond The Earth (Parts III & IV) (22:11)

Review:

Clouds Taste Satanic's opus “To Sleep Beyond The Earth” is singular in vision and monolithic in intensity. The opening section of the first track bleeds power and infernal majesty with huge ringing chords oscillating into the distance interspersed with verbed out tremolo picking. You can tell right off the bat this was recorded at eardrum-bursting volume and echoes of Sunn O))) weigh heavy in the background. Moving into some nice melodic sections, Clouds Taste Satanic use a sprinkling of what sounds like a very subtle background effects at times a la Ufomammut. The occasional ringing gong at the beginning and ending sections are really fun to and do a great job at setting the atmosphere.

Parts III & IV quickly move into an ascending stompy riff. At just before the five minute mark Clouds Taste Satanic settle into a nice groove then quickly break it up and move back into a stompy section. This track has more interesting song writing as the rhythmic changes are substantial and pummelling. These sections at the beginning of the second track are of a higher tempo then the lumbering opener. The middle bridge section echoes the huge intro with huge ringing chords. Interesting they move into a section around the fifteen minute mark that reminds me a lot of the band Tempel from their fantastic album “On the Steps Of The Temple” but slowed down and drugged out a bit.

I love the tones and production on this one, everything is raw and huge. The guitar tones in particular are well into doom buzzsaw territory and the drums are pounding. I would also be inclined to say I like Parts I & II a bit better as the beginning of Part I is incredibly epic, literally a perfect opener. Weirdly I'm seeing a release date of May 2014 for this, which is highly unusual to get something that's been out so long that hasn't been reviewed. Not sure what's up with that, weird considering how good the album is, check it out below. In addition, I note on their facebook page they are planning on releasing something in the fall of this year, mentioned tentatively as Oct. 1^st. as well.

Words by: Chris Tedor

Available Below:

Listen: https://cloudstastesatanic.bandcamp.com/album/to-sleep-beyond-the-earth

Like: https://www.facebook.com/CloudsTasteSatanic