Records of Their Years with Red Beard Wall mastermind Aaron Wall & exclusive track premiere of "The Warming"

Formed in 2016 and the creative outlet of Texas native Aaron Wall, Red Beard Wall’s delivery of  heavy, hooky and concise compositions would eventually see the band signed to Argonauata Records with their debut self titled LP released in May 2017.   With riffs that could level city blocks and vocals that are the perfect combination of soaring melody and caustic screams of despair, Red Beard Wall are back and set to deliver their most bone crunching material to date in the form of new long player 'The Fight Needs Us All' which will be hitting all good stockists on February 22^nd 2019 as Digital Download, CD and Vinyl. The album pre-orders are now available in the following editions, bundles: HERE LP: HERE CD: HERE

Influenced by amazing bands such as, Floor, Helmet, Conan, Yob, Pallbearer, Baroness, and countless others, today we have a double helping of Aaron and his 7.5 tons of beard, as THE SLUDGELORD exclusively premieres a brand new track entitled “The Warming” which you can check out below. Not only that we invited Aaron to discuss some of his favourite records.  Welcome to this Red Beard Wall edition of “Records of Their Years”.  

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite album from the year you were born? 

Aaron: First off to you, oh mighty SLUDGELORD...thank you so much for having me!

I was born in 1977. Therefore the answer is Motorhead’s self-titled debut. Really not much elaboration needed. 

THE SLUDGELORD: First record you bought with your own money?

Aaron: Yes! I remember well! I was 8 years old, I had saved up a little cash from mowing yards and such, specifically I got Van Halen “1984”, Beastie Boys “Licence to Ill” and Run D.M.C “Raising Hell”. All 3 of those records are still very dear and close to my heart. The very 1^st time I ever performed was in a 3^rd grade talent show. I did a mean version of the Run D.M.C. deep cut “You Be Illin.” Oh the memories from years gone by! Haha!!

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite non metal / rock album?

Aaron: That’s a tough one, but I’d have to say Wu-Tang’s “36 Chambers”. I was a bit of a hip-hop nut in my formative years, and honestly still am, although obviously my love for the heavy eventually overtook to top position musically in my life.  

THE SLUDGELORD: Album that most disappointed you?

Aaron: I guess I don’t think that way about records I don’t necessarily like. I just feel like it wasn’t made for me. I definitely try to look for something in it, that I do enjoy. If I cant, I move on to something that does move me. 

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite album of all time or if you prefer album (s) you’d run back into a burning building to rescue?

Aaron: I’m gonna choose 3. All from Mastodon, “Remission”, “Leviathan”, “Blood Mountain”. Those three albums reinvigorated my enthusiasm for heavy music. After growing up in Texas in the 90’s with Pantera being a huge early influence, a lot of metal had gotten stale for me personally. Mastodon brought a renewed and energetic love back that I though may have been fading away. That love and passion has not waned since.

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite album (s) of 2018?

Aaron: Daughters, “You Won’t Get What You Want”. The intensity is so palpable throughout. The songs are just on another level. 10 out of 10!  

THE SLUDGELORD:..and finally The last album you bought? 

Aaron: The last album I bought, ironically enough is a pre-order of the new Red Beard Wall album “The Fight Needs Us All.”  Extremely shameless self promotion, I know...but in my defence, it’s also 100% the truth.  Once again, much much gratitude and appreciation for allowing me to be a part. ALL LOVE. ALL APPRECIATION. ALL HAIL!!!

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

6 NEW BANDS: THE SLUDGELORD's "666 PACK REVIEW" (November 2018)

By: Nikos Mixas

It’s the November installment of THE SLUDGELORD’s “666 PACK REVIEW”!  Can you believe that we’re almost finished with this fucking year already???  There are been some winners (but unequivocally more losers…) that have scored a 666 rating just about every month during 2018.  November bands, don’t fail us now!  If you’re new to this, each and every month we handpick 6 review submissions and critique them by only using 6 words, then we rate them on a scale from 1 to 666!  Check out our cold and dreary rating scale below: 

1 – With the lack of daylight hours and listening to your submission, we’re totally feeling this rating of miserable.

2 – We liken your band to when you wake up to shit ton of snow outside.  It blows.   

3 – Some holiday music can elicit feelings of meh, just like listening to this.

4 – We’re likening this submission to hope.  For example, spring is only 5 months away kind of hopeful.

5 – This is real good.  And we mean real good like going on a vacation to some warm weather island for the holidays kind of good.

666! – THE SLUDGELORD’s highest rating is bestowed up you along with an imaginary bottle of whiskey and cauldron full of whatever makes you happy! 

The 666 PACK REVIEW is meant to offer humorous criticism and is not meant to hurt feelings, however, there are no safe spaces here.  THE SLUDGELORD is a picky listener…and doesn’t care what you think of his opinions….

1). Red Usurper, “The Sphere of Time” (Saint John, Canada)     Rating: 3

Digging the tunes, vocals need work.

 
2). Leroy, “Leroy” (Dublin, Ireland)     Rating: 1

First prize for WORST VOCALS EVER.

3). Gaping Maw, “The Big Fuck-Over” (Cincinnati, USA)   Rating: 5

Noisy, angry and cool bass lines. 

 
4). CTRL+All+Delete, “CTRL+All+Delete” (Sacramento, USA)   Rating: 5

Do NOT CTRL+Alt+Delete this fine sludge!

5). Raskolnik, “Dissenter” (Norrköping, Sweden)    Rating: 2

Guitars lessons AND vocal lessons needed.

6). Vandampire, “You will be the bones” (London, United Kingdom)   Rating: 666!

This is THE SLUDGELORD, you lost?

Band info: Red Usurper || Gaping Maw || Ctrl+All+Delete || Raskolnik || Vandampire

ALBUM REVIEW: Valafar, "Wolfenkind"



By: Richard Maw

 

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/11/2018

Label: Independent

 

there are no bad tracks here and over the course of the eight tracks the band have crafted a fine and vicious album. Valafar are a band to watch and they are destined for greater things

 

“Wolfenkind” CD track listing:

 

1). Úlfhéðnar

2). Brotherhood of the Wolf

3). Path of the Warrior

4). Bloody Spoils of War

5). Shunned from the Light

6). The Ballad of Plainfield

7). Odin’s Call

8). Born of the Nine

 

 

The Review:

 

Valafar hail from West Yorkshire and have imbued this Viking/death/metal with a good deal of the grit the region is famed for.  Keighley and surrounding areas would historically have been part of Northumbria in the dark ages, as would (oddly)  a fair bit south of the River Humber as well- everything from Lincoln upwards was firmly Viking territory. It is not so strange, then, that these Yorkshire bruisers would be espousing a Norse doctrine and bringing tracks enthralled to the Ulf/Varg/Ulva in the form of “Brotherhood of the Wolf”.

 

With other tracks named “Path of The Warrior”, “Odin's Call”, “Born of the Nine...” you know what to expect thematically from those titles! Musically, this is absolutely rock solid- good production job, growled vocals, tales of glory and mayhem; it's all here. I suppose as a reference point this is kind of like a death metal Grand Magus. There are cracking riffs to be had here, it's not mindlessly “brutal” as the songs are thought out and the band has brought some seriously groove filled and sludgy riffs.

 

In short, this is not just speed for speed's sake death metal, but neither is it anything less than very heavy. There is something here for fans of death metal, trad metal, thrash metal and even doom metal, as well as Vikings of course. Sound wise, this is perhaps closer to Swe-death than Florida death metal, but Euro death is closer again to the mark. Think Asphyx jamming with Grand Magus via Revel in Flesh or similar and you are getting there.

 

To be clear, there are no bad tracks here and over the course of the eight tracks the band have crafted a fine and vicious album. Valafar are a band to watch and they are destined for greater things- watch this space and get out to see them live when you can. Stirring stuff.

 

“Wolfenkind” is available HERE

 

Band info: facebook

REVIEW: Six of Swords, “Regime Decay” EP

By: Richard Maw


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/10/2018

Label: Independent

This record is wedded to the corpse of early to mid 90's old school DM and is all the better for it

“Regime Decay” CD//DD track listing:

1). Eye for an Eye

2). No Amnesia

3). Malodorous

4). Hunted

5). Hells Messiah

6). Hedonistic Gluttony

The Review

Six of Swords, Canada's finest death metal troupe, return with this beastly collection of six prime cuts. “Polar Vortex” was an EP release that ran surprisingly hot, reviewed on the blog a few years ago. This record has taken all elements present there and ratcheted them up a notch. 

Once again, the production is clear and powerful and the opener “Eye for an Eye” demonstrates that there is more to the band than out and out speed. The main refrain is straight out of the classic Morbid Angel playbook and the band keep things reined in tight- the expected blast never comes and instead this track is a crawling wretched beast. “No Amnesia” changes gear but not style- very pleasingly, this record is wedded to the corpse of early to mid 90's old school DM and is all the better for it.

Once again, the vocals alternate a little with lows as the main course and highs as the extra. “Malodorous” is a fetid exhalation of doomy breath, but the band also switches up to much faster pacing here as well. Excellent lead work and unexpected dynamics come up for air here too- great track. “Hunted” continues the tar-thick vibes and brings with it an Entombed-esque rhythmic approach.

“Hells Messiah” and “Hedonistic Gluttony” continue with some Euro/Swe-Death flourishes and it is clear that SOS have built upon the great “Polar Vortex” to hone and expand their sound. There are some great riffs here, some great leads, an excellent production and nothing that goes too over the top- no endless blasting, no pointless tracks that go nowhere. This is a focused and lean release that I heartily recommend to fans of any band mentioned in this review.

“Regime Decay” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Satan's Satyrs, "The Lucky Ones"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/10/2018

Label: Bad Omen Records |

RidingEasy Records

“The Lucky Ones” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Thrill of the City

2). The Lucky Ones

3). She Beast

4). Take It and Run

5). You and Your Boots

6). Too Early to Fold

7). Pulp Star

8). Trampled by Angels

9). Permanent Darknes

The Review:

What if, rather than dying in that car-crash in 1977, Marc Bolan had instead taken over guitar and vocal duties in Angel Witch, and decided they needed to tune down to couple of steps? It’s something we’ve all pondered, I’m sure, but thanks to Satan’s Satyrs we need wonder no longer.

“The Lucky Ones” is the fourth full length from the Virginia quartet, following their split EP with tour-mates Windhand, released on Relapse Records earlier this year. Once again the garage rock/proto-punk influences of MC5, Blue Cheer, Ziggy Stardust era Bowie, and all the rest, clash head on with NWOHBM dual guitars and chunky, swaggering Cock Rock riffs.

What are Satan's Satyrs? Are they a Glam Punk band? That sounds a bit shit. Are they a Retro Rock band? That sounds ever shitter. But they're undeniably a band whose sound, look, and attitude is rooted in the 1970s. Of course, the same could be said for a lot of bands in 2018, but Satan's Satyrs are a lot more The Sweet than Sabbath.

“Thrill of the City” is a tyre-screeching Stooges-like opener, with tasty Thin Lizzy twin lead work from Nate Towle and Jarrett Nettnin. “The Lucky Ones” like a raw, garage cover-version of some unlikely song you've definitely heard before, but somehow can't remember the name of. “She Beast”’s main riff is a weighty, sleazy Southern Rock strut with Clayton Burgess' chunky bass grunting away octaves below his pouty, boy-Bowie vocals.

“Take it and Run” is an acoustic driven number, equal parts Lizzy, T-Rex, and Ziggy. “You and Your Boots”' fat, chugging verses give way to straight up rock n roll choruses, with unashamedly triumphant leads which wouldn't sound out of place on a track by The Darkness. “Too Early to Fold”, similarly sounds like it could be some raw, rough and ready pre-“Permission to Land” lost demo.

There's more than a whiff of early Guns N Roses throughout the record, but “Pulp Star” is pretty much straight up L.A. Hard Rock. “Trampled by Angels” sounds exactly like it's being performed (mimed to, I suppose) on a 1978 Christmas edition of Top of the Pops. “Permanent Darkness” is the most thoroughly NWOBHM sounding track on “The Lucky Ones” and, as such, it's a strong closer – bringing the kitch levels down several notches.

So, to return to the question, what are Satan’s Satyrs? Is it possible to be a brand new Classic Rock band? Even if it is, that’s still not quite right in terms of describing what they’re up to. They’re more like a brand new proto-Classic Rock band – a band capturing the sound and energy of what happened in venues like The Rainbow in London in the lead up to the dull, grey 1980s, and the dawn of Stadium Rock proper. Sweaty, urgent, cocksure, and raw; as much as I can list all these forty-odd year old bands and artists that Satan's Satyrs undeniably sound like, there’s no sense that they’re a mere pastiche of what’s gone before. Whatever exactly it is that they’re actually doing, whatever you want to call it, they seem to be the only ones out there doing it right now, and they’re doing it well.

“The Lucky Ones” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Un, "Sentiment"

By: Richard Maw


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 28/09/2018

Label: Translation Loss

For listeners prepared to take this grim journey, there are impressive rewards to be had. Not for the faint hearted, but certainly this album is one of the best releases this year in doom or any other genre. The whole album is a grim steed, plodding inexorably towards its own fate. Fantastic.

 

“Sentiment” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1). In Its Absence

2). Pools of Reflection

3). Sentiment

4). A Garden Where Nothing Grows

The Review

Well, there are four tracks here, nothing much under twelve minutes in length and there has been a sizeable buzz surrounding this record for many weeks prior to me sitting down to review. So what is going on with Un's “Sentiment” album- their sophomore release?!

For starters, melancholic clean work opens up and then gives way to a truly huge and crushing passage of music. Obviously, from the song lengths alone, it is reasonable to assume that this is an album that is in the arena of the doom genre- and it is, loosely. This is nothing really like Sabbath, Vitus, Trouble, Candlemass et al- it is not trad doom by any stretch. It does fit into the more modern interpretation of the genre label- think Conan, Yob and so on.

The vocals are of the growled variety (not on every track though, so keep an ear out!), the sound is absolutely enormous and the mix is excellent. This is very, very weighty stuff indeed and by the time opener “In Its Absence” has finished, the tone has been set. There is nothing uplifting here: only the darkest and murkiest riffs and sounds are to be found here. It's a downbeat listen, as song titles such as “Pools of Reflection” suggest. The title track is just as sprawling and epic in approach and utilises the same clean opening (yielding a promise of something sweeter than the bitterest of fruit which is actually then served up).

There are echoes of Paradise Lost at their gloomiest, echoes of Yob at their trippiest and there are hints of death metal, psychedelia and even shoe-gaze here and there. The closing statement of “A Garden Where Nothing Grows” is a dark and bleak vision and it really sums up the whole record very well. Any track here would sum up the release as a whole as it is a very strong whole and is nothing if not consistent.

Yep, “Sentiment” fits into the doom bracket, but there is a great deal going on here. For listeners prepared to take this grim journey, there are impressive rewards to be had. Not for the faint hearted, but certainly this album is one of the best releases this year in doom or any other genre. The whole album is a grim steed, plodding inexorably towards its own fate. Fantastic.

“Sentiment” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp  || facebook

VIDEO PREMIERE: Southern Ohio progressive grunge band Static Tension debut "Bury My Body"

As a follow up to their 2017 EP "Out Of Reach", Static Tension will re-emerged with their first full-length album "Ashes To Animation", which is set for release in January of 2019.  The Southern Ohio based quartet delves into new musical territories with this new release, offering a full pallet of sounds ranging from soft acoustics to intricate, progressive metal riffs. 

Drawing upon influences from classic rock, grunge, and progressive metal, Static Tension creates a sound unique to their own, self described as "Progressive Grunge".  The band's influences are vast and diverse, at times resembling classic sounds of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, while also channelling a grungy, sombre atmosphere similar to Alice In Chains and Soundgarden with hints of modern, heavy tones of Mastodon and Gojira. 

“Bury My Body” is a song that touches on the final breaking point in a person - the moment that makes their end seem appealing to them. Nobody really wants to die unless their life is more painful than they can imagine their death being. The song also has undertones of wanting to disappear completely - to be buried alone and not remembered at all, just erased from all memory. Life is not always butterflies and roses, and this song is a reflection of those aspects. 

Despite the tracks heavy subject matter, mental health is something that everyone needs to talk about, because conversation can be therapy in itself.  So what better way to deal with dark feelings of one’s own thought that to channel that into music, which can act as catharsis for the composes but as also be used a therapy for the listener.  “Bury My Body” is streaming in full below, so crank it up and allow this music to be your catharsis

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

REVIEW: Tuskar, "The Tide, Beneath, The Wall" EP

By Andrew Field

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 07/12/2018

Label: Riff Rock Records

“The Tide, Beneath, The Wall” is likely to be one of the best EPs you’ll hear in 2018. Immerse yourself in it. It’s quite a ride.

“The Tide, Beneath, The Wall” CD//DD track listing:

1). The Tide

2). Beneath

3). The Wall

The Review:

I’m going to make a grand statement here, but one which will be backed up by anyone who’s caught these boys performing in dark and dingy venues over the last two years: Tuskar are the most exciting live band in the UK right now. On stage they are breathtakingly incendiary:  an aural hurricane demolishing everything in sight. After a typical half hour set you look around the venue to see Tuskar fans giving each other that knowing look, whilst newbies are busy pulling their jaws off the floor.

Most exceptional live bands fail to capture the visceral energy of their shows when they get in the studio. That’s not the case here. Tuskar’s molten riff workouts, so immaculately captured by Sam Thredder at the Slabdragger guitarist’s Cro’s Nest Studio, are voluptuous in their groove and tone. “The Tide, Beneath, The Wall” is a quite exceptional piece of work.

Whilst you can hear reflections of Conan, Mastodon, BongCauldron and others in Tuskar’s sonic melange they are subsumed deep within the duo’s own electrifying musical howl. Underpinning everything is Tyler Hodges’ undulating drums: always groove-fuelled, often polyrhythmic, youthfully powerful. Rhythmically, moments of full-on head-nodding swagger flow effortlessly into fast passages packed full of time changes or snare rolls. He hits his crash cymbals then grasps them, playing on and off the bell of his ride cymbal, creating milliseconds of sonic wonder which you look forward to each and every time he does it. And Hodges does this whilst delivering Jon Davis-like monotone vocal bellows and wails which perfectly fit the music brewing underneath them him.

Tom Dimmock, like Hodges only in his early 20s, is already a tone monster. Nowhere is this more apparent then on closing track “The Wall”, which opens with huge slow swathes of distortion and gain-soaked guitar, becoming more and more widescreen as the track builds through its eight-minute duration. His psychedelic, echo-drenched solo towards the end of the track is a veritable masterclass in subtle, understated, less-is-more beauty.

There is a noticeable maturity in these three tracks. If last year’s debut EP “Arianrhod” was full of youthful vim and vehemence, “The Tide, Beneath, The Wall” shows what a difference 12 months can make. Tuskar have moved forward, as writers and musicians. They’ll doubtless be off to tour the fuck out of this release, honing their craft even further. Thus, I’m salivating at the thought of how good their debut full-length album is going to be when they get around to making it.

In the meantime, “The Tide, Beneath, The Wall” is likely to be one of the best EPs you’ll hear in 2018. Immerse yourself in it. It’s quite a ride.

“The Tide, Beneath, The Wall” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM PREMIERE: Philadelphia thrash punks Roadkiller deliver sneering self titled EP

By: Mark Brandt

The Philly punk scene is a powerful thing. It has always been defined by house shows, heavy riffs and a dedication to the layer of crustiness that makes the city so wonderfully twisted. It should come as no surprise that this bastion of hard hitting punk rock would be a lodestone for some of the best punk rock talent in the world. Such was the case for the mysterious Australian born guitarist of California Motorhead tribute band Motorbabe, and now frontwoman of hard hitting punk thrash heavyweights, Roadkiller. When she (who shall remain nameless) flew out to visit a friend she couldn’t get enough of the punk scene and when she met a drummer who was down to jam, she realized destiny was calling.

After an initial burst of shows, Roadkiller quickly recorded their self titled debut EP, a record fated to make your ears bleed in all the right ways. This is guitar driven high energy riffage. Clearly inspired by the eighties but capable of tapping into so much more, these songs will make you want to tear shit up as you scream along to powerful choruses and nightmarish verses. Created with the goal of fusing punk, hard rock and crossover thrash whilst still remaining uniquely Roadkiller the band is on a mission to write quality heavy music and play out as much as possible.

With dreams of constant touring and a dedication to quality songwriting, Roadkiller are more than just another punk band. We are witnessing the birth of a well oiled machine, a group who represent the magic of all the underground has been and will be.

Blending classic vibes with a modern tinge, Roadkiller are exactly the sort of band we need in 2018. Constantly punching above their weight class and sneering their way to the top of the notorious Philadelphia scene, any way you slice it, Roadkiller are out for blood.  Their self-titled debut EP will be released on November 16th 2018 and the five blistering tracks are the perfect combination of thrash, metal and punk attitude. The EP is highly recommended for fans of Megadeth, Motorhead and Exhorder.  Check it out in all its thrashing glory below

Band info: bandcamp || facebook