The Sludgelord 'Sour 16' for July 2015

Welcome to The Sludgelord’s ‘Sour 16’. Each month, you the reader are unwittingly compiling a list of the top 16 records of the month, covering all genres of metal, but predominately the best the doom, sludge, stoner-psychedelic genres have to offer.  Is it chart? Not really.  To put it simply, the ‘Sour 16’ are the records you guys have been most interested in over the last month and checking out on this page.

So here is the The Sludgelord’s ‘Sour 16’ for July 2015, the 16 records you’re most looking forward too or are currently checking out.  Check em out, spread the word and perhaps revisit some records you may have overlooked.  

The results are compiled based on page views alone and calibrated into the list below. So without further ado, this is the ‘Sour 16’. So until next month, roll up, kick back, chug a beer and Hail the riff! All review links, are held under the artwork. (Total views at the time of publication highlighted in orange)

16) = The Nepalese Temple Ball – ‘Arbor’ (245)

‘How this band is not a household name is beyond my comprehension, but this album should go some way to making sure that happens.’

Review

16) = Dreadnought – ‘Bridging Realms’ (245)

‘The cinematic scope of Dreadnought’s music sounds like it should take a small orchestra to perform it.’

Review

14). Plaguewielder  - ‘Chambers of Death’ (252)

‘Ominously named, and equally ominous with their execution, Plaguewielder has no real give to their sound, the first track, ‘Existence is Our Exile’, simply shreds against the walls of your mind, with the torturous vocals raking like the nails of the dead against the inside of your skull.’

Review

13). Vattnet Viskar – ‘Settler’ (254)

‘This record is DENSE! With a massively thick tone, these songs sonically envelop you in billowing oppressive textures’

Review

12). Freedom Hawk – ‘Into your Mind’ (263)

‘Overall a very strong album that holds strong throughout; immense riffs and licks, explosive drumming, engaging vocals and solid bass playing- it doesn’t get much better.’

Review

11). Hair of the Dog – ‘The Siren’s Song’ (284)

‘The tone of the record is undeniably loud and heavy, but incorporates an atmosphere which is vibrant, full of energy and represents a band with a very bright future indeed’.

Review

10). Abrams – ‘Lust.Love.Loss’ (294)

‘Blending spiky guitar lines reminiscent of These Arms Are Snakes, plenty of weird Cave In style effects, angular post-hardcore aggression and no-nonsense stoner riffing, Abrams have created a compelling and addictive listen here.’

Review

9). Tremonti – ‘Cauterize’ (304)

‘It is not metal like Celtic Frost, certainly, but it is as metallic as bands like Black Label Society for instance.’

Review

8). Fogg – ‘High Testament’ (311)

‘If you like your music with heavy riffs, fuzz pedals in overdrive and mixed with various styles, Fogg are worth checking out.

Review

7). Goya – ‘Obelisk‘(326)

'Obelisk' is, in all, a thinking man’s doom metal record; it keeps you on your toes, always remains untamed, delivering uppercuts with complete conviction just when you think you’ve sussed them out.’

Review

6). Khemmis – ‘Absolution’ (334)

‘From the opening riff of the album you can pretty much tell ‘Absolution’ is great. Laying somewhere between Pallbearer and perhaps a downtempo Ghost, Khemmis' first full-length is one of the best albums you will hear this year, Period!!’

Review

5). A Trust Unclean  - 'Reality Relinquished' (341)

‘The whole EP is so energetic, inspiration seems to bleed from every available crevice; here is a band basking in a creative flourish.

Review

4). Weeed – ‘Our Guru Brings us the Black Master Sabbath’ (343)

‘Be it in the album’s closing track or all the tracks preceding, Weeed has made a potential classic stoner rock album that draws from familiar elements of the genre and has enough experimentation to give them a sound of their own.’

Review

3). Sweet Cobra – ‘Earth’ (354)

'Earth' will sit nicely in any collection and would add some melodic relief in between the usual tipple of sludge, doom, death metal and black metal. Brilliant.’

Review

2). Alustrium – ‘A Tunnel  to Eden’ (409)

Listening to "A Tunnel to Eden" I get the feeling that this might be the album that "makes" this band

Review

1). Gorgoroth – ‘Instinctus Bestialis’ (411)

‘Technical and precise, this album at times has a subtle yet palpable progressive tinge…’

Review

This list features reviews by Heather Blewett, Chris Tedor, Chris Bull, Victor Van Ommen, Philip Weller, Brian Mclean, Kat Hilton, Charlie Butler, Steve Howe, Hunter Young, Richard Maw & James Harris

Freedom Hawk - 'Into Your Mind' (Album Review)

‘Overall a very strong album that holds strong throughout; immense riffs and licks, explosive drumming, engaging vocals and solid bass playing- it doesn’t get much better.’

Album Type: Full-Length

Date Released: 23/6/2015

Label: Small Stone Recordings

‘Into Your Mind’ CD//DD//LP Track Listing

1). Blood Red Sky

2). Journey Home

3). Lost In Space

4). On Your Knees

5). Waterfall

6). Radar

7). Beyond Our Reach

8). Into Your Mind

9). The Line

10). All Because Of You

Freedom Hawk is:

Lenny Hines | Drums

T.R. Morton | Vocals, Guitar

Mark Cave | Bass

Review:

The Virginia Beach rockers are back!

Now a trio since  the departure of Matt Cave, they bring out their 4^th album and follow up to their 2011 release ‘Holding On’.  Heavy riffs, rolling grooves and soulful melodious guitar entwine to produce their immediately identifiable sound. ‘Into Your Mind’ brings another dimension to their fuzz tinged offerings with all the swagger one would have expected after their previous effort.

A twinge of Ram Jam sneaks into opener ‘Blood Red Sky’; to what proves to be a bloody amazing album, flecked with stoner vocals and Sabbath like grooves,  it oozes into the sub conscious pummelling the senses with aplomb. Definitely the most radio friendly song, a stoner rock band can write, it has the rhythmic pulse of Led Zeppelin with the charisma of Ozzy. Rather adroitly they alternate and meld the prime elements of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s classic rock, metal, psychedelic rock, grunge and even a tinge of thrash. A belting opener.

‘Lost In Space’ epitomises the Virginia Beach trio at their finest; harnessing every single element that makes them enjoyable to the listen to; sci-fi lyrics, guitar riffs and lead melodies that create momentum and splashes of colour to lift the arrangements. The passion they have for hard rock and its history is transferred directly into this song and its finely tuned style of song writing.  The lead break in ‘Journey Home’; housing more layers than a triple decker sandwich, brings the catchiness up to immensely classic levels whilst the refined drum rolls from Hines and psychedelic chord choices make ‘Waterfall’ an absolute must have for their live shows; housing a slinky funk groove before opening up to a stoner rock ballad, superb stuff.

With a nod to Southern Rock, they take a wander with ‘Beyond Our Reach’, with clean, echoing guitar rhythms that hammer into the brain and take root enabling you to hum them all day long. Putting a pin in their heavy distortive work to get their point across, and they do, so very well.  Smoothly moving into the title track ‘Into Your Mind’ with a Clutch like stomp, you’re subjected to wondrous harmonies that combine Soul, Blues, Hard Rock and Stoner Metal with style,  making this trio diverse- yes but also enticing, flowing with musical chemistry. Jim Morrison’s influence is a shining beacon on the opening vocals here. A track that can only be described as organic; it is like no other on the album but reflects the roots of the Hard Rock/Metal genres. This song reminds the listener; no matter what kind of song they write, what lies at their core- delivering energetic rock whilst worshipping at the altar of the greats. It is by this point that I have realised just how good drummer Lenny Hines is; almost Ian Paice like, his dexterity for fills and his stylistic variations are immense. Each drum part is superbly arranged and executed with intent and attention to dynamics.

‘The Line’ glides in next; instantly attention grabbing, sombre and melodic, driven with emotionally charged vocals and strong bass lines, it is wondrously morose and melodic. The guitar lines take over about half way through and lead the song to an enchanting instrumental ending. Ending on a high with ‘All Because Of You’; it is a funky, groovy number that will cause those with even the blackest of souls to have a little wiggle round the kitchen.  It is simple yet effective and with more than ample guitar wizardry, catchy drums and bass entanglement, it takes me a minute to calm down and declare that I am in no doubt this record is winning. With the focus honed on refined, hook-orientated chord progressions and the Ozzy like crooning of guitarist T.R. Morton these 10 songs remind me of everything from Sabbath to Kyuss; Clutch to retro Corrosion of Conformity.

Overall a very strong album that holds strong throughout; immense riffs and licks, explosive drumming, engaging vocals and solid bass playing- it doesn’t get much better. They have developed a fantastic writing/playing style that pings the senses and has massive potential for success within the retro/classic rock movement. They balance the vocal and instrumental parts alongside excellent attention to detail with their arrangements. Capitalising on the best of the 70’s whilst adding their own twist based around excellent song writing as opposed to stylistic retro posturing.  If you love classic rock and up tempo metal/hard rock then this will settle nicely between the ears and tickle your fancy.

Words by: Kat Hilton

‘In Your Mind’ is available here

For more information:

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

Official: http://freedomhawk.net/

Follow: https://twitter.com/freedomhawkband

Listen: http://freedomhawk.bandcamp.com/

Photos: http://instagram.com/freedomhawkband

Freedom Hawk - Holding On (Album Review)

By: Aaron Pickford

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 11/10/2011

Label: Small Stones Records

Freedom Hawk has flair and flamboyance in their sound, most importantly the ability to write memorable tunes.  This skill intertwined with an unyielding production from Vince Burke (Beaten Back to Pure) gives the album a classic sound of days gone by, when albums were recorded in 7 days and you were excited to open your gatefold vinyl for the first time.  ‘Holding On’ is an album which adds further credibility and quality to the genre, and of classic albums we have grown up with.

‘Holding On’ CD//DD//LP track Listing

1. Thunderfoot (4:10)

2. Living for Days (2:50)

3. Edge of Destiny (4:13)

4. Her Addiction (3:59)

5. Zelda (1:44)

6. Nomad (4:44)

7. Magic Lady (4:44)

8. Bandito 3:07)

9. Flat Tyre (4:36)

10. North Swell (4:02)

11. Standing in Line (4:31)

12. Faded (4:56)

13. Indian Summer (4:15)

Freedom Hawk is:

T. R. Morton | Vocals, Guitars and Organ

Lenny Hines | Drums

Matt Cave | Guitars

Mark Cave | Bass

The Review:

Monster Magnet, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, 3 bands who immediately spring to mind when you’re thinking of stoner or desert rock. Synonymous with the scene for over 20 years, they been the catalyst for many bands seeking to emulate or copy their sound, sometimes producing music of quality and others time not.  For that reason, I often feel a sense of apprehension when exposed to new bands in the genre, due in no small part to an over saturation in the market of poor quality music and perhaps for reasons that some bands are intent on trying to be the next Monster Magnet, Kyuss or Fu Manchu.  Having never heard Freedom Hawk before, the usual feelings started to stir.  Thankfully Freedom Hawk here, with their third official release ‘Holding On’, have produced an album of impeccable quality.

What you have, is what you expect from stoner/desert rock, bucket loads of riffs and that trademark fuzzy bass groove.  Whilst listening to this record, I couldn’t help feeling that I was being transported back to 1970’s America; peace and love, warm summers, driving in your convertible and heading down to the beach.  Think Cheech & Chong, and their ‘fiberweed’ van and you’ll get the general idea.  Having been labelled "the East Coast's answer to Fu Manchu", you might expect a band to flounder perhaps sacrificing originality in favour of being a nostalgia act; however ‘Holding On’ is a headstrong, full throttle adrenaline ride, with a tank full of groovy riffs, blistering guitar solos and enough swagger to make their contemporaries green (no pun intended) with envy. 

‘Holding On’ resonates with the influence of Dio era Black Sabbath, and also the solo career of Ozzy Osborne, specifically ‘Blizzard of Oz’.  Indeed T.R. Morton’s voice has an uncanny resemblance to Ozzy, yet retains originality.  More importantly, the exemplary vocals only serve to make this album such fantastic fun.  The band sHEAVY also springs to mind when I listened to this record.  Is it any wonder this record is awesome?  Since their inception in 1995, Small Stone Records have an exemplary track record of producing bands and releasing music of superior quality and ‘Holding On’ continues that great tradition.  "Thunderfoot, ‘Living for Days’, ’Edge of Destiny’ and ‘Her Addiction’ are fused with powerful chords, Iommi-esque guitar solos and an impressive use of ambience, creating the aesthetic of psychedelia and fuzziness, giving you that warm tripped out feeling and infecting your psyche to its core. The sporadic use of organ’s provide the album with a spaced out / out of body sensation, all of which sets them apart in their own right from the aforementioned Fu Manchu.  I couldn’t help thinking on ‘Her Addiction’ that it had just a whiff of The Ramones influence on it, giving it that punchy attitude and up tempo ‘punk’ vibe. 

Throughout the album T.R. Morton's Ozzy influenced vocals add supreme quality to the record and it infuses well with the bands fuzzed out sound and further cementing their ‘70s rock sound.  Slower more experimental detours on the album such as "Zelda", which could be their ‘Planet Caravan’, add definition and texture to the album.  Plan and simple, ‘Holding On’ is just downright impressive.   During the 13 tracks on offer here, Freedom Hawk provides the listener with the sweetest grooves imaginable, yet offers something truly unique. The band has the uncanny knack of producing polished melodies with beefy riffs, giving substance and vigour to the album.  Tracks like ‘Bandito’ are catchy as hell and take you on rollercoaster ride, leaving you disorientated and bewildered, by what has just happened.

Freedom Hawk has flair and flamboyance in their sound, most importantly the ability to write memorable tunes.  This skill intertwined with an unyielding production from Vince Burke (Beaten Back to Pure) gives the album a classic sound of days gone by, when albums were recorded in 7 days and you were excited to open your gatefold vinyl for the first time.  ‘Holding On’ is an album which adds further credibility and quality to the genre, and of classic albums we have grown up with. The album is a grower and the more you listen, the more you grasp the depth of influences which have inspired this band to write it.  I can only hope that Freedom Hawk continue to produce albums of this quality, because if they do, ‘Holding On’ is the beginning of very bright future for them.  This album is choc full of hooks, groove and muscular riffs and to top it off, excellent vocals. To quote Cheech Marin, ‘Holy sheep shit! It’s guitar Heaven!  I can’t recommend this album highly enough.  Go buy it!

‘Holding On’ is available here

Band info: Official | Bandcamp | Facebook