Welcome to The Sludgelord!
Presenting up to date news, reviews & interviews for riff addicts around the world.
This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
By: Richard Maw Album Type: Full Length Date Released: 03/06/2022 Label: Transylvanian Recordings
“Quiescent”
CS//DD track listing: 1). Mother 2). Father 3). Son 4). Daughter The Review: Four tracks. Many
minutes. Funeral doom/sludge with synths. Santa Cruz, California?! There must
be something very bleak about living in Ca. The crime rate? The threat of
earthquake? The relentless good weather?! Certainly, this music is as bleak as
it gets. This is thick as tar and just as dark. The four tracks here
comprise of “Mother”, “Father”, “Son” and “Daughter”.
It is far from a happy family, though. The soundscapes are nightmarish, slow
and low. The vocals, when they appear, are shrieked and rasped- the sound of
despair. Only one track is much below fifteen minutes, so with a running times
north of eighteen minutes for the opener, you know you are in this for the long
haul. Of course, there are no
hooks or ‘songs’ here per se. This is just a horrible journey through an
underground tunnel with minimal to no light. It is as down-tuned as Conan, but that’s where
the comparison would end. Dvvellare very much their own
thing. If you like your doom
with sludge, synths and truly epic playing times, then this is undoubtedly for
you. It’s hard to know what else to say here; it’s dark, troubling and
relentlessly bleak. If that sounds like something you might enjoy- that word
used very loosely, then you are already a fan of this band even if you haven’t
heard them as this is very, very good. “Quiescent”
is available HERE
Album Type: Full Length Date Released: 11/09/2020 Label: Century Media Records
“The
Entombment of Chaos” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1). Cosmic Chasm (Intro) 2). Illusive Divinity 3). Congregation Of Flesh 4). Synthetic Impulse 5). Tombs Of Chaos 6). Enshrined In Agony 7). Dissectasy 8). Torturous Ways To Obliteration 9). Eternal Hatred 10). Unfurling The Casket
The Review:
“The
Entombment of Chaos” is album number four for these Californian death metallers.
It's incredible, really. It's not because of their longevity, but instead it is
incredible they are not from Tampa,
Florida and this is being
released in 2020 and not 1992. This album is a beast. It's resolutely old
school and nods to the best bands of the genre; Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary
et al. The promo photo says a lot; Obituary and Grave shirts proudly on display
and the band looking like they are deathly serious- which they are.
The
fact that the bonus track is a Disincarnate cover- that's the James Murphy Disincarnate-
shows that these guys are very interested in going for real old school fans of
the genre and also that they are exactly that themselves.
Of
course, this is fast, of course this is brutal, of course this is pure death
metal; but it's never at the expense of riffs and attitude. It's not fast for
the sake of being fast and doesn't overstep the mark into unlistenable
brutality. Instead, there are plenty of melodic shifts and tasteful leads (“Synthetic Impulse” has this in spades).
The atmospheric intro of “Cosmic Cavern”
nods to the tech greats like Cynic, while the opener proper “Illusive Divinity” is headbanging heaven.
Elsewhere,
the propulsive thrashing of “Tombs of
Chaos” is very satisfying- with added blasts for seasoning. Ten tracks
(eleven with the bonus track) is more than enough of this type of carnage. Just
like their forbears, this is to the point and focused- just as well because if
this ran to a full hour or similar it would be hard to get through. Instead,
the band know that a little goes a long way and the record clocks in around the
length of one side of a TDK 90 cassette (which I used to have Death
albums dubbed onto).
What
Skeletal
Remains have done here is recreate the atmosphere and approach of
classic early 90s Floridian death metal, and they have done so expertly. It's really
good death metal, complete with a mood setting intro, a clean interlude (“Enshrined In Agony”) that kicks off the
second half and all the good points of the genre rolled into one album.
There
are echoes of Deicide's
riffing approach in “Dissectasy” and
Morbid
Angel's angular musicality in “Torturous Ways To Obliteration”. Yep, for the old school
death head, there is nothing to dislike here. The production is spot on, too.
This is a great throwback to the g(l)ory days of death and makes me want to dig
out everything from “Cause of Death” to “Altars
of Madness” to “Tomb of the Mutilated” and feast upon
their innards.
It's
a deathly delight from start to finish. Have a listen to any one of the eight
full original songs here and you are bound to agree- if you have any interest
in any of the aforementioned bands. Death metal the way it was and the way it
should be; loud, fast and raw with grit and guts aplenty.
If
you had advised me that I was going to begin 2020 and my long overdue and
prodigal return to the annals of SLUDGELORDby writing a review of a blackened death band named after a Pokemon,
I would have suggested that you were either a liar or a troll. If you had
further insisted that said band was named after the infamous Snorlax, whose most
feared abilities include its preponderance for sleep and eating while
sleeping, I would have pronounced you mad. But here we both are,
considering a thoroughly savage work of metal under the aegis of a pocket
monster "docile enough to let children and small Pokémon bounce on
its large stomach." Moving on...
This
debut full-length album is exclusively the labour and talent of Brendan Auld,
who also plays rhythm guitar in the excellent blackened grind band Siberian Hell Sounds.
Six tracks are featured on this album, a runtime of 23:10. And let me tell you,
not a whisper, breath or riff is wasted. The entry wound, “Infernal Devourment”,
raggedly saws into a indefatigable chainsawing of unrestrained but subtly
complex riff changes. There is a clever fusion here of some second-wave
melodicism with both the grimness of some current Danedeath and a restrained
application of classic buzzsawing. This careful alchemy of materials is carried
forth best in “The Chaos Ov Iron Oppression” - cavernous with
threatening edges of dissonance, it nevertheless works itself around melodic
motifs that ground the track with unerring structural confidence. “Mind Ov
Maggots” almost swings Finnish-black in the sweep of its tenebrous
harmonies and the warm undertones that sound like Hephaestic fires
glowing in the mantle of the earth. The final minute of this track comes
together with incredible weight and primal force.
“Encapsulated
Apocalypse” features a chugging, sludgy bridge that flows
seamlessly into the marching and dirgeilke funerality of “Impending AbysmalWretchedness”. Performances here on all fronts are excellent, but the
vocals are worthy of particular note: swinging from chasmic depths to near
shrieks, they create a terrific and terrifying ambience throughout the album.It is hard to believe that this album is
under 24 minutes in length. This has nothing to do with feeling like it outstays
its welcome; quite the opposite in fact. What Brendan Auld accomplishes
in that short time is nothing short of massive - the album feels huge,
like the looming shadow of some primordial titan. Or possibly a 460 kg Pokemon.
Either way, this album is accomplished, polished without a trace of
overproduction, and as heavy as an event horizon. Get it.
Welp, it didn’t take long, but life
got in the way and I missed several weeks worth of “Sludgecamp”. I don’t believe this is going to be a recurring thing,
so hopefully I’ll be a lot more consistent from here on in! This week is
another largely black metal affair, with a bit of death thrown in for some
balance. It’s also heavy on new pre-orders as opposed to albums released this
week. As always, I hope you find something to love here!
Released
this week:
1). Rebel Wizard, “Voluptuous worship
of rapture and response”
This album is garnering plenty of
praise and hype, and with good reason! The music is an infectious blend of
NWOBHM and black metal, housed within the harsh, fuzzy production B. Nekrasov
has favored from the project’s inception. With wild song titles (“Drunk on the wizdom of unicorn semen”,
for example) and brilliantly crafted riffs, Rebel Wizard
feels like something of a sure bet, with each new release improving over the
last. When you combine this kind of excellent songwriting with flashy lead
guitar work, and then wrap it in this kind of bat-shit crazy exterior, the
appeal seems so obvious that greater success feels like an inevitably at this
point.
2). Ladnah,“Within
Dark Realms”
Coming to us from Greece is Ladnah, with the two tracks available offering two very
different experiences. “The Awakening”
has a very strong Emperor vibe, circa ‘Wrath of the Tyrant’ and the self-titled
EP. The other song, “Belial Rises From
The East” has much more of a current day Sargeist
kind of feel to it, but both are well done. This is a total throwback, and
would have fit in amazingly well as one of the super underground bands featured
in one of those old Blackened compilations back in the 90s. This is well worth
checking out if you have an affinity for that mid to late 90s symphonic black
metal sound.
New
Reissues on Bandcamp:
3). Mactätus, “Provenance
Of Cruelty”(Napalm)
In something of a fun coincidence
given the previous band’s similar stylistic choices, underrated symphonic black
metallers Mactätus have made their way to bandcamp via
their old label home Napalm Records, and
they’re ready to rouse your late 90s symphonic black metal nostalgia as only
they can. Released originally in 1998, this album strikes a nice balance
between the early Emperor material and
pre-Galder Dimmu Borgir.
New
Pre-Orders:
4). Dödsrit,
‘Spirit
Crusher’(28th of September)
Prosthetic Records
has been on something of a tear this year with well-regarded albums from Skeletonwitch, Monotheist, and now
this week’s Rebel Wizard all under their belts this
year. They’re coming back very quickly with another can’t miss album. This
time, they’re presenting us with a brand new Dödsrit album;
less than a year following their remarkable debut, and the preview song plain
old fucking kills. Their last album was on my year end list, and by the sound
of this, they’re damn well likely to be there again this year. If you have any
interest in atmospheric black metal, crust, or both: buy this. Immediately.
5). Mutilated by Zombies, ‘Scripts of
Anguish’(5th of October)
Awesome old school death metal,
though of a different sort than you might be thinking. This one should appeal
more to the Morrisound, Florida death metal devotees of the world, offering
that early Deicide viciousness with the rhythmic chops
of prime Dying Fetus and Deeds of Flesh.
6). All My Sins, ‘Pra Sila - Vukov
Totem’(23rd of September)
Raging melodic black metal out of
Serbia, and self-described as “South Slavic Black Metal Mysticism”. The
relentless blasting here is paired with icy tremolo riffs with a touch of folk
sprinkled in throughout, with the end result approaches something like the
current day Finnish black metal sound, only at hyperspeed and with a cleaner
production. “Vetrovo Kolo”, the song available to preview, rarely stops long
enough to let you catch your breath, but the ride is well worth the exhaustion.
It’s
the July edition of THE SLUDGELORD’s 666 PACK REVIEW!
Festival season is in full swing,
temperatures are at their peak and the submissions to THE SLUDGELORD
have been pretty good so far this summer, will that trend continue into
July??? Hopefully I didn’t jinx anything and it’s time
to review bands! 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 festival themed rating scale below:
1
– Festivals are light years away for you…
2
– When the local promoter organizes a “festival”, you might get an invite.
3
– Not too shabby. Maybe Riff Fest (UK)
or Stoner Meadow of Doom (USA) will notice your chops?
4 – You just leveled up to
Maryland Doom Fest (USA) and Doom over Vienna (AUT) status.
5
– You’re definitely on your way to getting an invite from Roadburn.
666
– THE SLUDGELORD thinks that either a Hellfest, Wacken or even
a Download Festival could be in your future one day!
Caveat: Even though the 666 PACK REVIEW is meant to offer
humorous critique, there are no safe spaces here and your gripes will only make
you sound like a bellyacher. THE SLUDGELORD is a picky listener…and doesn’t care what
you think of his opinions….
1). Left To Wither,“Left To Wither” (Lille, France) Rating: 3
The omnipresent
malevolence that coats the majority of the album gives it a different feel from
the rest of the band’s catalog. At The Gates do their
best to get the best of both worlds: acting as an agent of fan service and
staying in their own lane, while also using broad strokes to give the old sound
a new context.
‘To Drink From the Night Itself’ CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Der Widerstand
2. To Drink from the Night Itself
3. A Stare Bound in Stone
4. Palace of Lepers
5. Daggers of Black Haze
6. The Chasm
7. In Nameless Sleep
8. The Colours of the Beast
9. A Labyrinth of Tombs
10. Seas of Starvation
11. In Death They Shall Burn
12. The Mirror Black
The Review:
At The Gates,
being in the At The Gates nostalgia business, have
returned to be really good at being a version of At The Gates
that you’d like to hear, as a fan of At The Gates. I know
how that read just now, and I don’t care: it’s fucking accurate. They’re a band
intent on crafting the best nostalgia album they can, and they’ve done a
exceptional job of meeting those goals here. They’ve taken the moody atmosphere
of ‘With Fear I Kiss The Burning
Darkness’, gussied it up with a modern studio production, a touch of added darkness,
and plugged it into the “Slaughter of The
Soul 5000”, their patented nostalgia refinement machine.
The end result is ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’: the
album morose death metal folks of a certain age are sure to enjoy enough to
spend money on. And bless them for it too! The last thing we need is Jonas
Björler getting some wild “got to keep up with the times” hair up his ass, like
his other band The Haunted did, and you might remember how
long it took them to right that ship once they set sail upon that sea.
The formula for this album is pretty
straightforward: you’ve got your slower, melodic parts that range from mournful
twin harmonies to murky atmospheric darkness. And then you’ve got your uptempo Slayer beat stuff, which I affectionately referred to as
the “Slaughter of the Soul 5000”
machine earlier. That’s the stuff meant to get your “Blinded By Fear” glands salivating, like Pavlov’s dog whenever
Pavlov entered the room. It’s all very comfortable, like a warm sweater and a
cup of hot cocoa at the start of winter.
Here’s the fucked up thing: At The Gates nostalgia baiting us for forty-five minutes
still makes for one of the finer death metal albums of the year, and they sound
like they’re barely trying. The band are an inexorable monolith of “remember
the good old days” emotions here, and all we can do is continue to be
fascinated and entranced by it. We’re powerless to resist the charm of
familiarity, and really why would we want to? There’s no harm in it.
While that “warm sweater of fond
melodeath remembrance” I mentioned earlier is certainly a huge part of why ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’ works
so well, it would be unfair to say that the album doesn’t have its own
character. They’re especially fond of using those deep, resonant chords for
building atmosphere on this album, which gives the album a more menacing
feeling altogether. In fact, you could call this At The Gates’ darkest
album to date, and have a solid case for that belief. ‘With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness’ was more gloomy than
outright ominous, and this album is firmly planted on that second word’s side
of things.
For all of my needling the album for
playing it safe, ‘To Drink From The Night
Itself’ is a big improvement over ‘At
War With Reality’. The parts of the album meant to give you a cozy trip
down memory lane do so remarkably. The omnipresent malevolence that coats the
majority of the album gives it a different feel from the rest of the band’s
catalog. At The Gates do their best to get the best
of both worlds: acting as an agent of fan service and staying in their own
lane, while also using broad strokes to give the old sound a new context. This
album is the musical equivalent of reuniting with old friends at your favorite
old hangout spot and having a great time, even if the place doesn’t look quite
like it did before. An occasion like that is virtually guaranteed to be a joy
for you because it was the safest choice to bring you that joy in the first
place. Does that really diminish the experience any for you? It didn’t for me.
‘To
Drink From the Night Itself’is available digitally here and on CD/LP here.
It’s
the August edition of THE SLUDGELORD’S666 Pack
Review! For some of you, school is back
in session so you need your metal reviews short and to the point. Well, it’s your lucky day! 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 awesome rating scale
below:
1 –
What the hell did I just listen to???
2
– This is the musical equivalent of smelling limburger cheese.
3
– There are no participation trophies here…just shaming…
4 – Remember when Pantera was a
glam band? You see, there’s hope for you
yet!
5
– With a nuclear apocalypse looming, your music should be the soundtrack.
666
– THE SLUDGELORD bows down…and you are worthy
of the most sludge laden praise…
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….
Konvent
- “Demo”
(Copenhagen, Denmark) Rating: 5
Distortion, upon more distortion.
Medusa sings.
High Priestess
- “Demo” (Los Angeles, USA) Rating: 4
It’s
the June edition of THE SLUDGELORD’s666 Pack Review!Metal festivals are kicking off all over the
globe and what better way to celebrate? By listening to…well, you guessed it,
more metal!!!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 awesome rating scale below:
1 – Hey, at
least you guys are more credible than Five Finger Death Punch at the moment...
2 – Now that
it’s summer, at least your friends will have less of an excuse for not checking
out your band.
3 – THE SLUDGELORD
made it through the whole song!Congrats!
4 – You’re good
enough to secure a spot right before the touring headliners.
5 – Not many
things are better than going to the beach or having ice cream on a hot summer’s
day, butyour band just made
that list.
666 – THE SLUDGELORD
thinks your band is so hot; we’re referring to you to Satan himself to keep
those temps up in hell!
Some
of the best metal festivals are kicking off this month and it seems like
everyone is on tour.Summer is also
prime time to record and submit your demos and THE SLUDGELORD is awaiting them.THE SLUDGELORD
is a picky listener…and doesn’t care what you think of his opinions….
Dwoom- “Pale Mare Demo MMXVII” (Sundsvall, Sweden)Rating: 666
Modern day Candlemass worship, doom on!
Former
Worlds
- “Photos of Eve IX-XVI” (Minneapolis, USA)Rating: 4
