A Year in Review: Victor Van Ommen's Top 10 Records of 2015

By: Victor Van Ommen

2015 was a year which brought out two heavy rock masterpieces and one Clutch album. These three albums are tied for my number one spot. The other seven records on my top ten are there because of how god damn tasty the jams were and that a feeling of guilt rose up inside of me every time I returned the album to its sleeve. Though in terms of innovation and genre-defying riffs, there was little on offer in 2015 but none the less, I got quite a kick out these ten albums and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. So without further ado, my top ten albums of 2015 are: (click on the artwork for full review links)

10). Brent Best – “Your Dog, Champ”

In the song “Good Man Now,” Brent Best sings:

Momma, you always told me that the only good man was a dead man

and I guess it had something to do with who you chose to be your husband

So I go to him at night and I nailed him to his bed

And I stood there and I laughed while the sheets were dripping red

So momma please don’t cry, he’s a good man now

It may be acoustic but hot damn, its heavier than a slab of Texas BBQ Spare Ribs.

9).  Ecstatic Vision – Sonic Praise

Ecstatic Vision released a strong debut that mixed elements of Hawkwind with Monster Magnet. So I ask you, what’s not to like?

8). Weeed – Our Guru Brings Us the Black Master Sabbath

These guys took me by surprise. I generally let bands with such names pass me by because I’m a fan of subtlety but I couldn’t deny the raw, spiritual groove in album opener “Bullfrog.” I don’t remember why I put the song on in the first place but I’m glad I did.

7) The Midnight Ghost Train – Cold Was the Ground

Aside from this album being 11 songs of hard-rock riffs that pound you in the face, there’s not much here in terms of wow-factor. That said this doesn’t take away from how good these songs are. At times they miss a little depth but the amount of energy exuding from these tracks makes up for it.

6). Death Alley – Black Magick Boogieland

There are a surprising amount of fantastic Dutch bands out there – I’m looking at you, Astrosoniq – and now we can add Death Alley to that list. Check these guys out, you won’t regret it.

5). Snail – Feral

I had never been completely impressed by Snail but I also never gave them a fair chance. This changed when I was sent their new album “Feral,” to review. As an album, it pits heavy riffing against a light vocal delivery which is a combination that will get me every time.

4). The Atomic Bitchwax – Gravitron

This shit-kickin’, diesel-fueled barn burner of an album is all things that I like about stoner rock. Speed, riffs, solos, drums, and strong choruses. I can’t get enough of these guys.

3). Clutch – Psychic Warfare

I can’t remember the last time a Clutch album didn’t rock. I’m hearing a lot of grief that “Psychic Warfare” sounds too much like “Earth Rocker.” My response to this is, “so what, that was a damn good album, too!” In my book, Clutch can do no wrong.

2). All Them Witches – Dying Surfer Meets His Maker

All Them Witches is a band that I wish had more than just three albums out. With their new one, “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker,” the band has crafted something that is heavy according to every definition of the word while never really going over the top. They take their time unfolding these tunes yet the album is still too short. I can’t get enough of these guys. An absolute classic that I will be talking about for years to come.

1). Elder – Lore

I never liked Elder very much. And then Lore came out. Now I can’t stop listening to them.

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

Weeed - “Our Guru Brings us the Black Master Sabbath” (Album Review)

‘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.’

Album Type: Full-Length

Date Released: 07/07/2015

Label: Illuminasty Records

“Our Guru Brings us the Black Master Sabbath” DD//LP track listing:

1). Bullfrog
2). Caravan Spliff
3). Dogma Dissolver
4). Enuma Elish
5). Nature’s Green Magic
6). Rainbow Amplifier Worship

Review:

Hold on; let me get my pothead on.

(crackle, crackle, crumble, crumble, spark, spark)

Ok, good to go.

If weed had a sound, “Our Guru Brings Us the Black Master Sabbath” would be it. This is the new album by Weeed, with Gabriel Seaver on bass, Mitch Fasnaugh on guitar, and John Goodhue on drums. The heady depth to Seaver’s tone is comfortable like the worn in spot of a thrift store sofa. Fasnaugh’s six string plays like a bowl’s harsher hits, the smoother drags from a joint, and a bong’s heavier blows. These two are backed by a style of drumming that captures the spirit of having the freedom to jam. Though sometimes ahead of the beat and sometimes behind, Goodhue is always on, keeping the music fluid and malleable but never at the sacrifice of the groove. What makes this work so well is that they stand far apart in mix, leaving space for Weeed smoke to get in all the nooks and crannies of the music.

Weeed’s band members dip into three pools of influence on their Illuminasty Records debut. These are the planet Earth, outer space, and spirituality, all of which take turns coming to the fore on this double LP. Album opener “Bullfrog” starts from the ground up with a solid rhythm courtesy of Seaver and Goodhue. The push is slow and heavy like the breathing in a hotboxed VW van. Fasnaugh’s guitar gets introduced gently with a solo that could easily fit on Colour Haze’s self-titled album. It fades into a sitar-effect that rides the groove that Goodhue taps out. Once the guitar returns, its presence is made known due in no small part to its harsher delivery.

“Caravan Spliff” follows with an acoustic lead and bubbly bounce that captures the ‘high’ conceived in the van. Though Weeed could have travelled on their own to the realm where gravity has no meaning, the band called in a pedal steel guitar, saxophone, and a throat singer to help lift this song even further out of reach. “Dogma Dissolver” – great song title aside – is next and serves as the album’s centrepiece. More shamanic like singing here, swirling from the one speaker to the other, so its time to bust out the headphones and close your eyes. The noodling guitars drive the eyelid kaleidoscopes but it’s when Seaver takes the lead that things really get going. This song is introspective and beckons the listener to get even deeper when it breaks out into the quarter beat hypnosis. As the fifteen minute run time progresses, there’s a trade-off between heavy riffing and droning before breaking into a primal breakdown led by Goodhue’s ability to capture the essence of a groove. By the time “Dogma Dissolver” comes to a crashing finale of cymbal smashing, feedback, and all around noise, the listener is left sprawling around on the floor wearing nothing but socks, unable to be satisfied with just how close they can get to the speakers. Needless to say, it might take a second or two before anyone gets up to put on disc two.

(crackle, crackle, crumble, crumble, spark, spark)

Ok, good to go.

The themes of planet Earth, outer space, and spirituality are cycled through once again on the last three tracks. “Enuma Elish” gets as close to a traditional song with a verse and a chorus as Weeed might ever get, shamelessly wearing its Black Sabbath influence on both its riff and vocal delivery to book end the song. The other four plus minutes of the song are spent amidst an instrumental jam that communicates with lead feet and gas pedals. 

“Nature’s Green Magic” is the album’s second extended cut that serves as a connecting flight from the listener’s mind to their body. It opens with an Alap – a free form introductory piece used in Indian classical music – that gradually grows into a drone before building into a guitar led journey that once again brings Colour Haze to mind. The tension in Goodhue’s gentle drumming is felt but is perfectly balanced; only giving way to the inevitable at the song’s transition into a classic stoner rock-out. The interplay between Seaver and Fasnaugh almost goes unnoticed here as they pass the main riff back and forth to each other without a defining moment. Perhaps it’s nature’s green magic that’s providing this seamless passing of the baton, but whatever it is, it makes for a good listen.   

And finally, “Rainbow Amplifier Worship” scuffs along with a hypnotic guitar line that, though stoic, is freed by Goodhue’s rolling rhythm. The primal screaming keeps things grounded but when the song's midsection is opened up with a jam, Fasnaugh’s fingers dance over his frets, lifting the listener to another dimension. There’s no let-up, no let-down, just a band of three guys who move up and away with the music they play. 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. Keep an eye on these guys. 

Words by: Victor van Ommen

“Our Guru Brings Us the Black Master Sabbath” is available here

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