ALBUM REVIEW: Orphan Donor, "Old Patterns"

By: Peter Morsellino

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/03/2020

Label: Zegema Beach Records

“Old Patterns” CS//DD track listing:

1). Hamsteria

2). Salvia Is A Beach

3). New Patterns

4). Pole Disdain

5). Mind State Dependency

6). Old Stains

7). Planks

8). Body On Fire

9). Profound Loss

The Review:

Allentown's Orphan Donor brings noise music to uncharted territory with “Old Patterns”. With a dense, unforgiving atmosphere and breakneck speeds, Orphan Donor offer up the perfect record for present times.  Give a listen. I think you'll understand.

From the first moments of album opener “Hamsteria”, Orphan Donor's intentions are clear.  Grating feedback is quickly met with a chaotic drum solo before coming together in a fast paced cacophony.  “Salvia Is A Beach” offers up the same onslaught of sound while offering up a little more structure and melody.  This is one you can move around to a little better. “New Patterns” is generally a more mid paced number, which makes the return to the albums brutal speed all the more appreciated. Other stand out tracks include “Planks”, with its slowed down doomy atmosphere standing in stark contrast to the rest of the album, “Old Stains” with a breakdown that allows the bass to stand out in the mix, and the impressive closer, “Profound Loss”.

“Profound Loss” is at once the most dissonant piece on the album, while also showcasing a lighter sound, with much cleaner guitars being picked throughout it. The sad plucking of these strings provides the perfect backdrop for the continued driving pace of the album. They break the tension and provide “Old Patterns” with the perfect ending.  Like a bleak acceptance after you've burnt through your angry energy. Truly beautiful song writing there.

Musically, this album truly is something to behold. With a sound reminiscent of the modern black gaze movement, Orphan Donor chooses to not contrast their dirty sound with a beautiful melodic piece, but rather with slowed down passages.

Throughout these tracks, one constant holds true. That is the beauty that can be found in dirt and disharmony.  This is loud, abrasive music, yes, but it's true beauty lies in its representation. Not everything ugly has a beautiful counterpoint. Not every low is resolved with a high.  Sometimes things are just bleak.  It's not a fun thought, but if you can rationalize it you are in the perfect space to appreciate the music that is presented here. Orphan Donor gift us with a soundtrack to our despair without offering any false hope, and in a world full of false hopes and promises, I am grateful for that.

“Old Patterns” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Spell, "Opulent Decay"

By: Chris Markwell

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 10/04/2020

Label: Bad Omen Records

“Opulent Decay” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Psychic Death

2). Opulent Decay

3). Sibyl Vane

4). Primrose Path

5). The Iron Wind

6). Dawn Wanderer

7). Deceiver

8). Ataraxia

9). Imprisoned by Shadows

10). Saturns Riddle

The Review:

Season of riffs, and mellow moshfulness… we find ourselves in times where music is needed now more than ever to soothe the soul, and send the mind to higher, happier planes.  There has never been a more apt time to discover new music.  Never. 

May I humbly recommend Vancouver heavy metal trio Spell? 

April 10^th 2020 sees the release of “Opulent Decay”, their fourth album.  It’s a true nostalgia-fuelled romp through the gardens of Sabbath, with sojourns through Dio valleys and the Thin Lizzy rivers.  It’s a journey your ears deserve to take, because you’ll find new, virgin audioscapes on which to traverse. 

Let’s get to the work itself: Spell are three gents who look like they were forged from three ingots of original heavy metal, and make music that resonates with that classic sound of old.  But it doesn’t sound outdated; far from it, in fact.  It feels new, and refreshing, and vital.  It’s like being a treasure hunter and finding a horde of plunder.  Except, this time, the whip and fedora aren’t required to find this plunder… although I’m sure they help.  Ahem. 

The music itself is ten tracks of glorious metal, spacier than an orbiting satellite, and riffier than Steve Harris of Iron Maiden chugging with Gary Moore and Tony Iommi.  Album opener ‘Psychic Death’ has this radiating, rolling drum beat which pulls the bass and guitar around as though it was their chariot, driving them onward to the battlefield that is your speakers.  Personal favourites for me include ‘Sibyl Vane’, which is a “Bad Reputation”-era Thin Lizzy rock song, with some truly mesmerising bass licks, courtesy of Cam Mesmer (great name), and ‘Deceiver’, which has this opening riff that reminds me of Annihilator’s ‘Never, Neverland’, before slamming into this powerful, Dio-era Sabbath style heaviness.  But get this: Cam’s voice on this track sounds like Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran.  And it works!  I don’t know how; I don’t know why… but it just works.  Hybridisation at its most magical. 

Spell’s latest album “Opulent Decay” is an enchanting slice of expansive heavy music.  The soundscapes breathe, move like a living being, and carry you along in their arms.  It’s a comforting journey, made with love and real craftsmanship.  Spell deserve to cast their magic on you.  On April 10^th, 2020, let them. 

“Opulent Decay” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Phantom Hound, "Mountain Pass"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 28/03/2020

Label: Independent

“Mountain Pass” DD//LP track listing:

1). The Northern Face

2). Thunder Am I

3). Irons in the Fire

4). You Don’t Know Death

5). Grace of an Angel

6). Mountain Pass

7). Devil Blues

8). The Southern Face

The Review:

American trio Phantom Hound present a sound some way between Soundgarden and stoner/doom bands like Sixty-Watt Shaman and Roadsaw. You get eight tracks of blues inflected grooving rock.

Opener “The Northern Face” sums up the band's sound pretty well, while “Thunder I Am” is a solid slab with some time changes and extensive solo passages. The solo sections favour the strict trio format- no rhythm guitar under it. The guitar sound is a treat- thick and fuzzed out, although the drums are a little lacking in power. The sound is raw and live, but the drums are a little thin sounding.

No matter, there is nothing wrong with the playing at all and the material is uniformly strong throughout. “You Don't Know Death” is a fine track and then “Grace Of An Angel” brings acoustic guitars and bridges the first half of the album with the second. The epic title track is eight minutes plus of downbeat Soundgarden-esque rock but it is bettered, in my view, by “Devil Blues” which is a wonderfully dynamic track with excellent guitar work.

“The Southern Face” closes the album out with close to eight minutes of very dark rock, the driving main section is effective and very strong. Overall, this is a solid release of stoner rock that is as American as apple pie. If you like any of the bands mentioned above, give this a try. I assume you've got some time on your hands currently to do just that!

“Mountain Pass” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Elephant Tree, “Habits”

By: Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 23^rd April 2020

Label: Holy Roar Records

“Habits” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Wake.Repeat

2). Sails

3). Faceless

4). Exit The Soul

5). The Fall Chorus

6). Bird

7). Wasted

8). Broken Nails

The Review:

Listening to “Habits” in advance of its release has remind me of the first time I heard Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, knowing that I was about to lose one of my favourite underground bands to the masses. A mix of joy and sadness pervades. On the one hand I’ll be able to say I was there at the beginning, watching them play tiny venues like The Unicorn in Camden or the Alma Inn in Bolton. On the other hand, I now know they’ll shortly no longer be our little secret. I’ll now have to share them with thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of others, because this album is going to catapult them into the stratosphere.

Elephant Tree have taken their time with this album. These seven songs have gestated during the four-year period since their eponymous second release in 2016, with the band honing them on the road and Riley Macintyre unleashing the multiple tools at his disposal at Church studio in London (U2, Paul McCartney, Radiohead). And boy does it tell. “Habits” sounds like a hundred million dollars. We’re not just talking about just the kitchen sink being in these grooves, they’ve fitted a whole house in there. Musically, “Habits” is a five-course meal. It sounds like it was recorded in a cathedral, or on a mountain top, and is musically uplifting and wondrous.

Lyrically we’re in polar opposite territory. This is one very dark record. Thematically it touches on loss, regret, fucking up, self-loathing, depression, loneliness, anxiety, paranoia, and the inevitability of death. Only “Bird”, with its refrain of “soft wings brush the cloud up above, soaring high - welcome rays of sun, fly, fly” offers any respite from the emotional murk and melancholy which seeps from almost every word Pete (Holland, bass and vocals) or Jack (Townley, guitar and vocals) sings.

A sense of sadness and poignancy is there from the first line of “Sails”, which follows introductory instrumental “Wake”: “So long, fading, don’t leave me alone” Jack sings and you instantly want to give him a hug. Then they springboard into far darker territory with the caustic “Faceless” (“crawling the walls, sapping my soul…. vision tunnelled, fluorescent black hole”). “Faceless” encapsulates all that is thrilling about Elephant Tree: a slow burning build-up anchored by multi-part harmonies and Sam Hart’s simple hi-hat shuffle, followed by a Jack Townley Dave Gilmour-esque guitar solo which will set your spine a-tingling. But that’s just a starter for the main meal, which comes in the second half of the song: the biggest, most head-noddingly savage passage which sees the main riff gently, teasingly bend around a single note, exploring either side of it before exploding into an almost orchestral, heavenly crescendo of widescreen sonic musical blancmange before fading in a drawn-out Krautrock keyboard drone. It is, quite simply, breathtakingly good.

“Exit The Soul” explores reflections on living and dying, and how we come to realise there’s an end point for all of us. It’s a seven-minute ethereal epic which makes you feel like you’re bathing in sound, eventually erupting into a palatial snail-pace drone and choir-of-angels Phil Spektor-eque wall of sound. “The Fall Chorus” is an achingly beautiful acoustic-driven number with harmonies and strings and Tow nley'sbest vocal yet. It brings to mind the soundtrack to a spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood, wide open plains and the Rocky Mountains shimmering in the distance.

“Bird” is the album’s money shot: a mid-tempo soaring chorus with monster harmonies is the album’s high point and sole spirit-lifting moment.  “Wasted” is a waltz about what goes through your mind when you’re coming down after a massive bender (“I can’t stand the way I destroy everything in me”), built around fat, grinding dirt-under-the-fingers-nails guitar work from Townley.

The album closes with “Broken Nails”, which is the best thing the band has put its name to and hopefully an indication of where they’re headed next. It’s a brave and unique song, starting with an acoustic guitar recorded so close to the strings you can hear them scrape and slide, building via a passage of clashing dissonance into a full-blown space opera. It sounds like no-one else, takes a while to make sense, and leaves you wanting much more of it.

The weight of expectation after their last album must have weighed heavily on Elephant Tree’s shoulders. They needed to make a stunningly good record. They can rest easy in the realisation that they’ve done exactly that. “Habits” is an exceptional piece of work and an essential purchase. What a band they are. What an album this is. Sheer sonic perfection.

“Habits” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Sigiriya, "Maiden Mother Crone"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 15/04/2020

Label: Burning World Records

“Maiden, Mother, Crone” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Mantis

2). Cwn Annwn

3). Tau Ceti

4). Peace Of My Mind

5). Seeking Eden

6). Dark Call

7). Arise (Darkness Died Today)

8). Crushed By The Weight Of The Sky

The Review:

Swansea's Sigirya certainly have the stoner/doom/metal pedigree- Acrimony and Iron Monkey loom large in their back story. This is their third full length record and a follow up to “Darkness Died Today” which was released back in 2014. Opener “Mantis” sets out the band's stall- loping grooves, space rock rhythms and riffs and sitar overdubs. A promising and surprisingly airy start.

From there, “Cwn Annwn” is similarly uplifting and oddly soaring, despite the low end rumble and weighty riffage. As per previous records, there is as much for fans of Monster Magnet here as there is for fans of any of the members' alma mater bands. “Yau Ceti” and “Peace of My Mind” continue in the same vein and it becomes clear what the band will deliver over the course of the album- languid grooves, uplifting and melancholy riffs and melodies, combined with some real weight. Add in some time changes and reverb soaked vocals and you have a Welsh stoner holy mountain.

Across the eight tracks there are plenty of twists and turns- it doesn't just rumble along at one pace- but there is enough uniformity to just stick the record on all the way through and absorb it; dare I say it... a little like the best Hawkwind records. You can certainly differentiate the loose and light “Seeking Eden” from the harder driving and more concise “Dark Call”.

There are darker tracks such as “Arise (Darkness Died Today)” which has a grunge like feel to it and acts as a fine bridge to the more epic closing statement of “Crushed By The Weight Of The Sky” which is the heaviest track on the album as well as being one of the best. Strangely, as I have mentioned grunge, some of the passages of music and melodies sound a lot like Nirvana, slowed down and beefed up. No bad thing as it lends the album a unique timeless quality in keeping with the band's approach and lyrical themes.

I would not hesitate to recommend this to fans of any of the bands mentioned within this review- there's nothing to dislike and plenty to enjoy. The performances match the material assembled here and this is a diverting and different listen.

“Maiden, Mother, Crone” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM PREMERE: Grim Ravine, 'It's A Long Way Down, To Where You Are'

Cited as one of the finest purveyors of extreme blackened doom to emerge from the UK and having firmly left their mark with 2015’s self-titled and 2017’s “The Light is from Below”, south coast quintet Grim Ravine, proudly reveal their latest opus “It’s A Long Way Down, To Where You Are”. Their new four track album spans a multitude of soundscapes from doom to black metal, melodic to discord, it’s ethereal and haunting. “It’s A Long Way Down, To Where You Are” is an album that could be summarised as one of positive misery, a celebration of hopelessness and the futility of our joyous descent into oblivion.

“It’s A Long Way Down, To Where You Are” is out 27th March 2020 via Hostile Media and will be available on CD and vinyl formats as well as on all major streaming and digital platforms (preorder HERE). Today at THE SLUDGELORD we’re offering our followers the first taste of the album, with an exclusive stream which you can check out below.  I also fired some questions at the band about the new album, the scene and their aspirations for the future.  Turn it up loud and watch your speakers die!!

SL: For those people unfamiliar with your band, are there any bands on the scene past and present that you would use as a reference point bands to describe your band, and who or what continues to inspire you and push you to try new things?

There are no particular bands that spring to mind to be honest. At the start we just wanted to play slow and heavy, but with every member adding their own style in we naturally developed a more "blackened" edge that was ever intended, but we have embraced this and have really been inspired by where our combined creative processes will take us next

SL: What can you tell us about your new record and where do you feel it sits within the context of current doom scene?

Probably sits on its own in the corner, but I think anyone who has an interest in the nastier side of doom/sludge or the more atmospheric ambient black metal should find something to their taste 

SL: Does anything spring to mind when you think about the completion of your new record and how is the mood in the camp at present?

We have experimented a lot more on this release and bought in more of our personal influences and we are very proud of the results. There have been a few delays with the release that have been out of our hands so we are also very relieved that finally people can hear it!

SL:What stands out as your overarching memory from the recording sessions?

The location that we recorded all the instruments in. This was at Old Chapel Studios in Chichester and the building itself, as well as the larger recording space, really created a different atmosphere during the process than we have ever experienced before.

SL: With you new record in the bag, how is your schedule shaping up over the next 12 months (Nb. this questions were sent prior to the Coronavirus outbreak)?

Well due to the current situation our live schedule is currently on hold, however we have been working constantly while waiting for the album to drop and have written a lot of new songs. It is most likely that we will be back in the studio sooner rather than later. We'd ideally like to do a split for our next release

SL:Finally, do you last words?

Just to thank you, and anyone who checks out our album, for your time. The current situation means that we do not have the chance to play live at this moment and support our album release that way, but our stuff is available online if anyone wants to check it out!

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Body Count, "Carnivore"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/03/2020

Label: Century Media Records

“Carnivore” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Carnivore

2). Point The Finger

3). Bum-Rush

4). Ace of Spades

5). Another Level

6). Colors

7). No Remorse

8). When I’m Gone

9). Thee Critical Breakdown

10). The Hate Is Real

Tbe Review:

Body Count and Ice-T are back with another full length, 2017's “Bloodlust” was a good album, as was “Manslaughter” from a year or two before that. “Carnivore” continues the metal and hardcore hybrid with, of course, the street level vibe and attitude you'd expect from a man first known as a rapper and then an actor.

The title track is hard as nails, “Point The Finger” is a Hatebreed-esque blast of nastiness directed against the police- presumably of the US. The production is once again stellar. Thick guitars and bass, drums compressed and brutal through the triggers. “Bum-Rush” is a revved up hip hop track, rhythmically, with plenty of wailing leads and political lyrics- the kind of thing Ice-T excels at, pretty much.

For a man in his 60s to still be this angry makes me wonder just what Ice thinks about the current Coronavirus pandemic and the injustice of it. Maybe the next album will tell us? At track 4 is a real curve ball... a cover of “Ace of Spades”! If “Raining Blood” on “Bloodlust” was triumphant, well this is pretty much the same. It helps that it's one of the best songs ever written- any genre- and also that Ice has a connection with Lemmy and Motorhead having appeared on a version of “Born To Raise Hell” for the Airheads soundtrack. The themes are right up Ice's street, so it works. A respectful and successful homage.

Jamey Jasta pops up for “Another Level” in a solid and different guest vocal, while the track is moody and dark- not all righteous fury. Next up is the Ice-T classic “Colors”- given a 2020 makeover. Many metalheads of the 90s will recall the Machine Head cover of this track as a bonus on “The More Things Change”- which was a straight hip hop cover. This is a metallic version of the same song. It's a hip hop classic and, much like the “Ace of Spades”, it works in any setting as it's a strong song!

The atonal and chugging “No Remorse” follows and is a more lunkheaded take on wilful self-determination than, say, Suicidal Tendencies would come up with. It's a rare weaker track. Amy Lee pops up for “When I'm Gone” after a heartfelt intro from Ice about the origins of the song. For me, this is not the style I listen to Body Count for- the riffage is again dull and chugging. Fortunately, “Thee Critical Beatdown” is much more like it- old school Body Count and values in full effect. It's a banger and sounds exactly how you want it to. The late-album lull is thus ended.

Band info: facebook

ALBUM PREMIERE & REVIEW: zhOra, "Mortals"

By: Peter Morsellino

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 27/03/2020
Label: Hostile Media

“Mortals” CD//DD track listing:

1). Coke Vulture

2). Hellfire

3). The Hollow

4). Wall of Time

5). Demotivator

6). Spectral Embrace

The Review:

With their fourth release, “Mortals”, ZhOra cement themselves as the future of sludge with an experimental sound that pays fitting homage to the past of the genre. The Irish four piece bring forth a hard hitting juggernaut packed to the brim with dark atmospheres and crunchy riffs sure to satisfy the palette of the most discerning metal fan.

Self branded as "progressive sludge," ZhOra craft a sound that is as unique as it is brutally heavy.  “Mortals” showcases this with its thick ambience and hard chugging riffs which are brought to life by pulse pounding rhythms. Interesting and varied time signatures create a surreal experience, giving the album an abstract atmosphere.   It's hard to wrap your head around, leaving you in a haze, vulnerable to the enormity of the sound. Throughout all of this, ZhOra keeps one toe firmly dipped in the murky swamps that birthed Sludge, fusing modern fuzzed out noise with a traditional doom influence that would make the genre's progenitors in the American South very proud. 

An expert mix lends itself immeasurably to the excellence of “Mortals”. With a very heavy and dense wall of sound at its base, each instrument is still allowed to stand out, with plenty of space to move around. Nothing feels over or under produced. For a group as talented as this one, it is essential to hear each individual piece in addition to the sum of their parts.  Far too often does a mix focus itself overwhelmingly on one or the other. But here, ZhOra grant us access to their full sonic spectrum.  Quite the blessing, as you won't want to miss any bit of this.

“Mortals” is a heavy hitter, but it is much more than your average head banger.  This one will have you rolling it around in your mind for long after the final note rings out.  A thinking man's record that doesn't skimp on raw aggression.  This one is a keeper.

You can stream “Mortals” exclusively and the album is available to buy “Mortals” is HERE 

The band also had the following to say about the record “We are beyond delighted to be releasing our third record "Mortals" with Hostile Media. The album deals a lot with frustration in many different forms, and especially now, that is a feeling that many people can relate to.

Part of the frustration we were going through writing "Mortals" was that, maybe we didn't fully pull off the concept of the last record. It's important to be able to take a step back and see what you could improve on rather than blindly surging ahead with the blinkers on. Most importantly, on how songs will translate live. 

So this album is honest. Lyrically every song is "I'm angry about X; here's how I feel". The metaphor and the wordplay is still there but you can tell that the snarl behind each track is something real. Musically, we're pushing the Death Metal influence much more than before for no real reason other than we've spent a long time pissed off at various things and it feels good.

In that way it's probably the most self-indulgent collection of songs we've written, and as a result - when we didn't get too far into airs and graces; we made an album we're all truly proud of.

These songs are for people that are generally fucked off and want to hear fucked off music. It's what makes you human.

It makes you Mortal.“

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: On Thorns I Lay, "Threnos"

By: Thomas Gonzales

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 21/02/2020

Label: Lifeforce Records

“Threnos” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). The Song of Sirens

2). Ouranio Deos

3). Cosmic Silence

4). Erynies

5). Misos

6). Threnos

7). Odysseia

The Review:

Self-proclaimed "Pure Depressive Metal" pioneers On Thorns I Lay return once again, following up 2018's "Aegean Sorrow" with their latest album, "Threnos".

Their ninth studio release features a familiar blend of flourishing string instrumentals, coral vocals, and piano interludes. On Thorns I Lay continues their journey of experimentation and introspection, refining techniques they've evolved since their inception in 1992.

Like many of the band's peers who influenced their style, On Thorns I Lay have undergone stylist changes, diversifying the original sound found on their debut album "Sound of Beautiful Experience" in 1995. Following a similar pattern of growth, On Thorns I Lay evolved with the genre; transitioning through extreme metal subgenres like Death/Doom, Melodic Death Metal, and even Blackened Doom Metal, bringing it all forward into their latest projects.

While Veterans of the industry, many listeners are only now discovering this band, and it's due in part to the sheer quality of their last few releases; "Threnos" is no exception. Reminiscent of the Peaceville Three, there is a diverse canvas of sound present in their music, adding a Hard Rock Goth approach to their brand of Metal, while sowing a thread of melodic sensibilities throughout each track. More importantly, their musicianship continues to improve, offering not only a high-quality production, but intuitive composition as well.

Riffage on the song "Misos" brings the hard rock element into the spotlight with catchy rhythms and hooks; a refreshing nuance in what is generally a very droning genre. Title track "Thenos" on the other hand, portrays a more Death Metal sensibility, focusing on throaty growls and pounding rhythm sections, that give way to the melodic nature seen throughout other songs on the album. Even though it starts off strong, it's the latter part of the release that really shines. Each track is tailored to create a sensation of grandeur, sweeping the listener away in the turbulent roil, before it crashes into the finale of weeping guitar solos, and acoustic interludes of "Oddysseia". 

On Thorns I Lay have an extensive history, but thankfully, now is absolutely the best time to get familiar with their works. "Aegean Sorrow" found itself on many Year End Lists in 2018, and with this being the most refined their music has been yet, it isn't a far stretch to think "Threnos" may see similar success. Pick-up "Threnos" on Lifeforce Records today.

“Threnos” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

VIDEO PREMIERE: KiTE, "Irradiance"

Those of you who follow SLUDGELORD, will no doubt be familiar with Norwegian Sludge trio, KITE.  Having co-released their critically acclaimed EP, “The All Penetrating Silence” in 2018, the band continue this momentum in 2020 with the release of their new album “Irradiance” which is set for release on March 27^th.

KITE's second full-length is a dark and heavy, yet crisp with a neck breaking groove. The album consists of 7 tracks, and today SLUDGELORD are excited to be sharing the title track from album.  You can listen to the crushing new single, “Irradiance” below.

 “Irradiance” (the album) is set for a release on March 27^th and will be available on Vinyl and Digital formats and preorders being taken at THIS LOCATION.

Band info: facebook || bandcamp