Ommadon - "Ommadon" (Album Review) & Tour News

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 08/04/2016

Label: Dry Cough Records |

Medusa Crush Recordings

Events slowly unfold, occupying a compelling middle ground between the hypnotic amplifier worship of Sunn O))) and the barely-moving leaden doom of Monarch!. Riffs emerge from the gloom, shifting forms accented by gut-punching drums.  If immersion in deepest, darkest drone appeals, take a plunge in Ommadon’s well of despair.

“Ommadon” DD//LP track listing:

Side A). VI

Side B). VI

The Review:

Imagine being trapped in a cave. You realise all exits are blocked and notice water is pooling around your feet. As the water level rises you come to the grim realisation that there is nothing you can do but accept your fate. Ommadon’s new self-titled LP perfectly captures this claustrophobic finality.

The Glasgow duo have taken the seismic droning and glacial riffs of previous releases and consolidated them into the single punishing 42 minute track that makes up this LP. A buzzing cloud of ominous electronics sets the tone, their menace soon magnified by the oppressive weight of impenetrable guitar sludge. Events slowly unfold, occupying a compelling middle ground between the hypnotic amplifier worship of Sunn O))) and the barely-moving leaden doom of Monarch!. Riffs emerge from the gloom, shifting forms accented by gut-punching drums. Ommadon always threaten to lock into a groove but pull back from the precipice, driving the tension ever higher and denying the listener the release they crave. When they finally lurch into a planet-shifting doom assault after what seems like an eternity of creeping dread, the effect is devastating. When the dust finally settles following the conclusion of the LP, the relief is palpable.

Dry Cough and Medusa Crush Records have already served up some killer albums this year from the likes of Sea Bastard, Primitive Man and Sealclubber but this release is a different kind of heaviness. If immersion in deepest, darkest drone appeals, take a plunge in Ommadon’s well of despair. 

“Ommadon” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Ommadon and relentlessly primitive sludge of Legion of Andromeda (Japan) join forces to demolish the UK in June and July 2016.

Live Rituals

SATURDAY 25TH JUNE: BRIGHTON, TBC

SUNDAY 26TH JUNE: PLYMOUTH, Underground, 15 Mutley Plain, PL4 6JG

MONDAY 27TH JUNE: NOTTINGHAM, The Chameleon, 17 Angel Row, NG1 6HL

TUESDAY 28TH JUNE: TBC

WEDNESDAY 29TH JUNE: LEEDS, CHUNK, 275 Meanwood Road, LS7 2JD

THURSDAY 30th JUNE: GLASGOW, Nice N Sleazy, 421 Sauchiehall Street, G2 3LG

FRIDAY 1ST JULY: NEWCASTLE, Head of Steam, 2 Neville Street, NE1 5EN

SATURDAY 2ND JULY: LIVERPOOL, Maguire's Pizza Bar, 77 Renshaw Street, L1 2SJ

SUNDAY 3RD JULY: EDINBURGH, VENUE TBC

MONDAY 4TH JULY: OXFORD, the Wheatsheaf, 129 High Street, OX1 4DF

TUESDAY 5TH JULY: LONDON, The Unicorn, 227 Camden Road, NW1 9AA

Primitive Man/Sea Bastard - "Primitive Man/Sea Bastard" Split (Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Split 12”

Date Released: 07/03/2016

Label: Dry Cough Records |

Black Reaper Records

“Cold Resolve” is Primitive Man’s finest hour to date. Maintaining a suitably crushing tempo throughout its lengthy duration, it’s an intoxicating slab of misery reminiscent of a more aggressive Unearthly Trance  or Iron Lung slowed down to 3 rpm.  Sea Bastard have a knack for constructing huge tracks that flow seamlessly from one section to the next and remain engaging throughout. “The Hermit” is another killer cut from a great band who grow stronger with every release.  This split is a fine way to kick off 2016, two great bands at the top of their game delivering the goods once more and leaving fans eagerly awaiting their next releases.

“Primitive Man/Sea Bastard” Split DD//LP track listing:

1). Primitive Man – “Cold Resolve”

2). Primitive Man – “Servant”

3). Sea Bastard – “The Hermit”

The Review:

Denver’s Primitive Man and Brighton’s Sea Bastard have both attracted the attention of many dedicated riff-worshippers over the past couple of years. It’s easy to see why as both bands deliver their own unique brand of bowel-churning filth. After touring the UK together in 2015 it makes sense for them to share a piece of vinyl to further spread their like-minded gospel to the masses.

Primitive Man weigh in with two tracks; ten minute monster “Cold Resolve” and the shorter “Servant”. Both see the band continue their noise-indebted take on discordant doom, demonstrated so well on the awesome “Scorn” LP. “Cold Resolve” is the band’s finest hour to date. Maintaining a suitably crushing tempo throughout its lengthy duration, it’s an intoxicating slab of misery reminiscent of a more aggressive Unearthly Trance  or Iron Lung slowed down to 3 rpm.  The track peaks at its mid-point as a hypnotic wave of sharp guitar noise washes over cavernous bass notes to create an inescapable pit of dread. “Servant” is a sludgier affair covering the more direct end of the band’s sonic spectrum. It contrasts well with “Cold Resolve”, both tracks work together to provide a compelling demonstration of Primitive Man’s immense power.

Sea Bastard expand their range of massive, side-long songs with the 20 minute behemoth “The Hermit”. The band take a more classic, sludged-up doom approach than Primitive Man but it’s the colossal scale of their songwriting ambition that distinguishes them. The track slowly unfurls from a tar-thick crawl into faster territory, twisting and turning through riffs before returning to the dirt from which it came. A searing racket of a guitar solo emerges from the murk around the nine minute mark providing the ear-scraping highlight of this epic voyage. Sea Bastard have a knack for constructing huge tracks that flow seamlessly from one section to the next and remain engaging throughout. “The Hermit” is another killer cut from a great band who grow stronger with every release.

This split is a fine way to kick off 2016, two great bands at the top of their game delivering the goods once more and leaving fans eagerly awaiting their next releases.

“Primitive Man/Sea Bastard” Split will be available here

Band info: primitivemandoom.bandcamp | facebook | seabastard.bandcamp | facebook

Live Review: Damnation Festival 2015, Leeds University Union, 7/11/2015

By: Richard Maw

With a stellar line up, a venue within my own city and the opportunity to wear a battle jacket, attending this year's Damnation was a no brainer. This time around, the music was split between four stages, plus vinyl, merchandise CDs etc. The capacity was limited to a lower level than last year (when trying to get into the right part of the venue to see Cannibal Corpse was a matter of some difficulty) and this made for a much easier day all around, really.

The atmosphere was great from the off. I arrived around 2pm and settled in to watch the main stage openers Savage Messiah at 2.30pm. Really, it is this kind of thing that festivals are all about. I had never heard Savage Messiah before, but I will hear them a lot more now... Their show was absolutely superb. High energy and highly technical thrash/melodic trad came together in a whirlwind of precise riffs and excellent solos. With a new guitar player in tow (who played superbly), this was a show of very high calibre indeed. I was immediately converted as a fan and will be going to see them again when they next come through Leeds or somewhere else in the North. Fantastic band- kind of like Priest/Maiden crossed with Testament. Good singer too. Their (third?) album “Plague of Conscience” is available as a free download through the Earache website- I downloaded it this morning and have it on while writing this review. This evenings plans included ordering the back catalogue (or what of it I can afford) from Amazon/Ebay.  The band deserve to be much bigger, so check them out.

I then caught Sea Bastard on a much smaller stage downstairs- good, heavy doom, played slow and with conviction. I enjoyed their set, but must admit that I did not watch all of it. A little of that stuff can go a long way... Onwards and upwards to The Ocean, then! The German band's “Epilagial” was a superb release a couple of years back and I was looking forward to their set. They did not disappoint as, cellist in tow, they brought an atmospheric and powerful set to life. The front man gave a particularly committed performance- which included diving off the balcony (!) into the crowd. Great band, great show.

On to Keep of Kalessin, who I am not too familiar with; playing a tight and very professional set of extreme and epic metal. For a three piece band, they make a lot of noise and delivered a taut performance with some very fast sections. I enjoyed what they did and, again, will be checking them out on record. I checked out a little of Solstafir, but it wasn't my thing so I moved on for a little food...

For me, one of the main reasons attending was to see Asphyx. They did not disappoint. Complete with dedication to the recently departed Martin “Kiddie” Kearns of Bolt Thrower, the band oozed class and power. Van Drunen screamed his lungs out while his three colleagues played with conviction. Early classics rubbed shoulders with tracks off “Deathhammer” and “Death The Brutal Way.” The band were really, really good and I also must note that their t-shirts were priced at the wholly reasonable £10 each. I bought one- bands charging £15 a shirt is just about acceptable, but anything more than that is very pricey indeed. This was true death with some doom mixed in and their set was a real highlight of the day. Classic band.

Onwards to see another big draw- the mighty High on Fire! Matt Pike and co. turned in a great and loud show. Pike, shirtless, thinner than in recent years and moustachioed threw down his battle axe riffage with aplomb, while Jeff Matz and Des Kensel provided one of the best rhythm sections in extreme music. Plenty from this year's “Luminiferous” was played- I loved hearing “The Falconist” live for the first time- as well as old favourites like “10,000 Years”. Surely one of the bands that most metal heads agree on, HOF burnt as much rubber as their name suggests. I went on to watch some of Primordial who played a professional and entertaining set. Front man Alan Averill was theatrical and charismatic, with as much Maiden as Mayhem in his stage presence. I really must check them out on record, beyond the track on a Terrorizer sampler CD I heard in 1996!

Finally, having been somewhat mystified by Japanese instrumental rock lords Mono for all of five minutes, I headed to watch At The Gates on the main stage. I must confess, first off, that I did not watch the whole set. It had been a long day and the wife was waiting in the Fabia nearby, so I ended up ducking out half way through their set. From what I saw, though, the band are in that rare bracket of “ultra pro” festival act. They played some choice cuts from their “At War With Reality” - which I like but do not love, but really, I was there to see the stuff from “Slaughter of the Soul”. Yes, they played the title track, yes they played other songs and yes, I shouted “GO!!!!” along with everyone else. For me, At The Gates will never really be a current band- I heard “SOTS” first time around and had the Peaceville records too. I think of them as a band from the past- albeit one brought back to life. Maybe that is doing them a disservice- but I just think of them as a kind of extreme metal heritage act. I want to be clear, I love the band and that one record dearly and their performance was one of professionalism and strength- in no way am I knocking it.

Overall, it was an excellent festival and certainly my favourite one in the UK. I like that it mixes genres and bands and brings in some real big guns who I might not otherwise see. For me, band of the day were Savage Messiah- I had never heard them and they blew me away with their utter commitment to the metal cause. At the end of the day, that is what festivals can do. I always check out as much as I can because I might stumble upon a new band that really impresses. If you ever consider attending Damnation, I say do it. I got to see a new band who impressed, veterans who I had never seen and some current heroes who all turned in great performances. And all for £36?! What an absolute bargain.



The Sludgelord News: KEEPER/SEA BASTARD SPLIT RELEASED IN NORTH AMERICA NOW!

Limited edition album now available to order

Medusa Crush Recordings is excited to announce that the highly anticipated split LP from California's KEEPER and the UK's SEA BASTARD is now available for purchase.

Containing two tracks of crushing doom, the split can now be obtained directly from Medusa Crush Recordings for only $19 CAD plus shipping. The album is limited to only 250 copies on vinyl, and is expected to sell out quickly. All purchases from Medusa Crush Recordings come with a free download code.

You can hear stream the split and order the LP at this location:
https://medusacrushrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/split-lp

You can read our review here

MEDUSA CRUSH RECORDINGS ONLINE:

Bandcamp | Facebook

Keeper/Sea Bastard - ‘777/Astral Rebirth’ Split 12inch (Review)

Album Type: Split 12inch

Date Released: 3/2/2015

Labels: Dry Cough Records,

Medusa Crush Recordings,

Black Reaper Records,

Tadpole Records

‘777/Astral Rebirth’ LP//DD track listing:

1. 777 -  Keeper

2. Astral Rebirth - Sea Bastard

Keeper is:

Jacob Lee | Guitar, Bass, Vocals

Penny Keats | Guitar, Drums, Vocals

Sea Bastard is:

Monty | Vocals

Oli | Guitars

George | Drums

Steve | Bass

Review:

Being that this will be the first split I’ve ever reviewed; I’ve had to think about how to write about this split from Keeper and Sea Bastard. I’ve wondered if it were right to compare them up against each other and declare a winner. I’ve considered writing two separate mini-reviews for each track. Neither really seemed like an ideal solution, so I’ve decided to review the release as a whole with the understanding that while both of these bands are clearly doom metal bands, they both also occupy very different spaces within that subgenre.

Keeper turned heads with their ‘MMXIV’ demo earlier this year getting recognition on year end lists from Kim Kelly for Pitchfork, CVLT Nation, as well as getting strong reviews from our own Elinor Beckford here. It’s easy to hear why they’re getting this kind of attention. Keeper specializes in the sort of ugly, grotesque doom metal that few ever really get right, but plenty have tried. If you were to combine the filthy, disgusting atmosphere of Khanate’s debut with the primal barbarity of early Grief in the early 90s, you might be in the right ballpark.

While a lot of this sound relates to what Keeper produced on ‘MMXIV’; the production and personality of this track surpasses anything on that demo, which is really saying something. The excesses of ‘MMXIV’ are driven even further. The vocals, which invoke a black metal Alan Dubin for all their gnarled insanity, are harsher than before. The deep, thunderous palm muting which was very much a hallmark of the demo is even more destructive. It’s easy to see how this would simply be sensory overload for many, but for those of us who thrive on an over-abundance of filth and misery; you’re going to be hard-pressed to find anything that can stand up to “777”.

No less heavy, but perhaps less vile and intense is Sea Bastard’s “Astral Rebirth”. Here, the doom is similarly influenced by Grief, but Sea Bastard like to explore droning and stoner tendencies as well, most prominently in the finger tapping transition of the main riff.  The vocals are also a deeper croak, which will definitely be more palatable for a lot of doom fans. There’s a sense that while “Astral Rebirth” is as cohesive as a twenty minute song should be expected to be; there are also clear sections where the song’s overall theme is played out in different ways. The opening riff, with some subtle variation takes up the most real estate with eight minutes of focus before giving way to a several minutes of drum less guitar drone. Things take a turn for the up-tempo from there, while playing with a similar tone to the main riff. “Astral Rebirth” takes you on a journey, while “777” is claustrophobic and purposefully confined, which is not a criticism.

There’s an old cliché that there’s more than one way to skin a cat, which always struck me as a pretty awful thing to turn into a common phrase, but in a way it fits the purely sonic nature of this split. Keeper is maniacal, surreal and visceral. Sea Bastard is brutish but explorative. Both are ruinous, devastating bands in their prime. While everyone is going to prefer one band’s methods over the other based on personal preference, it’s impossible to ignore the strength and value of both bands, which makes this split more than worth your time.

Words by: Daniel Jackson

You can pick up an LP copy here. Digital downloads will likely be available here and here at a later date.

For more information:

Keeper’s Facebook | Keeper’s Bandcamp | Sea Bastard’s Facebook | Sea Bastard’s Bandcamp

Sea Bastard - Scabrous

Sea Bastard are a Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal Band from Brighton, UK

The members are:

Guitars - Oli Irongiant
Bass - Steve Patton
Drums - George Leaver
Vocals - Ian 'Monty' Montgomery

So the UK's most dangerous Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal Band - Sea Bastard are back with their new album - Scabrous. A pummelling and brutal 55 minute affair that will prove why they are one of the finest Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal bands the UK has to offer at the moment.

We have featured these hugely talented bastards twice already with their excellent debut - Great Barrier Riff and last year's amazing follow up - Sea Bastard.

So 12 months later they are back with Scabrous. Another brutal affair full of loud and heavy pounding riffs with awesome pitch perfect death metal vocals to match. Ian is at his most scariest best on the album. He is the perfect embodiment of Satan like vocals backed by an even more demonic brotherhood specialising in the dark art of the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal riffs.

Nothing much has changed since their last excellent album. Sea Bastard still deal in epic filth decaying sludge metal riffs with enough power to cause you nightmares until next Halloween. Though Sea Bastard include some mighty fine grooves to headbang too.

First track - Nokken - is a 17 minute epic to prove they have lost none of their brutal power. To tell you the truth the band have become slightly more demonic than last time. And I loved every brutal second of it.

Play this album at full volume to get the full effect. The Mighty Sea Bastard are here to claim your soul and there is nothing you can do about it. Though the album's standout track has to be the brilliant 20 minute plus epic - Metaphoric Possession - which starts with a slow paced creepy vibe before Sea Bastard unleash hell on earth on an unsuspecting listener.

This track is worth the album download alone. It has all the ingredients for a Sea Bastard classic. Creepy vocals and riffs played against a violent backdrop of filth based riffs. Though the band have included a breathtaking guitar riff to prove they are hugely talented musicians in their own right. Maybe these talented bastards have indeed sold their souls to Satan to possess true talent which shines through out this outstanding album.

Well I have gone on long enough. So do you want an album full of creepy riffs from one of the UK's finest Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal bands with enough power to cause Satan headaches. Well this is the album for you. Sea Bastard have excelled themselves with Scabrous. I can't wait to see what they come up with next year to scare the hell out of us here at Sludgelord.

You can download this now on Buy Now Download on BandCamp. So do it now. If you like what you hear then download their excellent other releases.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Check Sea Bastard from the links below

Facebook
BandCamp