By: Aaron Pickford
Everyone gravitates to a favourite genre and each has its own merit, therefore over the last week I thought it would be a good idea to highlight, “six of the best” releases of 2015 within our most popular genres. But today for something a little different, we’re going to be focusing on bands who went out on their own and did things DIY, releasing their records independently. So as we reflect upon an awesome year of music in 2015, we present the DIY “Sonic 6” for 2015.
The Sludgelord’s ‘Sonic 6’ for 2015 is compiled based upon page views alone and calibrated into the list below, we will be presenting further lists during the lead up to Christmas, but for today roll up, kick back and Hail the riff! (full reviews can be viewed by clicking the artwork and total views since the date of publication are highlight in red).
6). Abrams – “Lust.Love.Loss” (358)
‘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.’
5). Scientist – “10100||00101” (363)
Storming opener “The Singularity” distils the key elements of this record into five and a half minutes. Chittering harmonics give way to the sledgehammer impact of furious, frantic riffing moving into anthemic sludge and finishing with an epic post-metal flourish. Imagine the best bits of American Heritage, Clutch and ISIS delivered with the seismic impact of Mastodon’s “Remission”. “1010II0101” is a pioneering piece of research at the cutting edge of riff technology that demands your attention.
4). Behold! The Monolith – “Architects of the Void” (375)
‘A collage of different styles and different ways of thinking how to manipulate heavy music in the best possible way, it spins off all over the place while you watch, centre stage, as the most brilliant mess of sounds and visions whirl around you like a metallic tornado.’
3). War Iron – “Precession of the Equinoxes” (527)
If you search for depravity strung out like a junkie, ‘Precession of the Equinoxes’ is waiting, door open, a fresh needle filled with a black substance in hand. Its one of the most solid albums from the blackened doom sector in quite some time, and if you're looking for something cranked to eleven, I think you'll find that this music is a bit slow for numbers. Crank the speakers, sit back, get loose, and let yourself be taken by the blackest riffs this side of hell.
2). Dreadnaught – “Bridging Realms” (546)
‘The cinematic scope of Dreadnought’s music sounds like it should take a small orchestra to perform it.’
1). Trials – “This Ruined World” (583)
This is superlative modern metal which mixes elements of thrash, death, traditional metal and comes up with something technical, progressive and accessible.
Reviews featured in this article were written by: Hunter Young, Charlie Butler, Richard Maw, Philip Weller
