Love Sex Machine - "Asexual Anger" (Album Review)

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/03/2016

Label: Throatruiner |

Lost Pilgrims Records

The new album 'Asexual Anger' from French heavyweights Love Sex Machine is like a KGB torture programme. Each strum of the strings, each hit of the drums, each vocal has been meticulously thought out and methodically delivered to inflict maximum impact each time. Whatever information it is you have, you'd better confess!  This follow up to 2014's self titled debut, is a stark reminder that LSM are equipped with all the right tools to punish; your eardrums will be very pleased indeed.

“Asexual Anger” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Asexual Anger

2). Drone Syndrome

3). Black Mountain

4). Aujeszky

5). Devolution

6). Atrocity

7). Infernal Spiral

8). Silent Duck

The Review

The new album 'Asexual Anger' from French heavyweights Love Sex Machine is like a KGB torture programme. Each strum of the strings, each hit of the drums, each vocal has been meticulously thought out and methodically delivered to inflict maximum impact each time. Whatever information it is you have, you'd better confess!

From the slow and painful bamboo under the fingernails of the opening title track, it's clear that this band is not messing about. The sound is bass heavy and you can hear and feel each string being hammered. The slightly disjointed 'Drone Syndrome' and the slower, suffocating 'Black Mountain' follow up the barrage of torture. The brilliant 'Aujezsky' adds elements of post hardcore to the mix and reminds me a little of Hogslayer's 2015 effort in its riffing and solid drumming. By the end of the track you'll be feeling like a political dissident, starved of food and sunlight. 'Devolution' is where things get serious. Your captors are getting serious. The tools are out and you're about to experience some real pain.

'Atrocity' stabs and kicks with real menace and purpose, you'll be beginning to feel as though death may be your salvation...but your captors will not let you off that easy! Then final tracks 'Infernal Spiral' and 'Silent Duck' draw things to a crushing conclusion; the former, a final violent burst of reckless abandon and the latter the end result; you're no use to society now. You're off to spend your final days medicated to the eyeballs in one of the state's best asylums. You may have information on the government, but no one will believe you now.

“Asexual Anger” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

The Sludgelord Presents: Riff Fest, August 29th @ The Alma Inn, Bolton (UK)

“With Riff Fest every band has been booked because we love them and believe in them. As long as the band has got a heavy, catchy riff then it’s cool. I’m very keen to stress, that all these bands could headline the event in our eyes.” – Adam Swarbrick

It’s a Sunday evening and, with a belly fun of ale, lager or whatever devilish nectar is your poison, the friendly debates shift into gear. Enthusiastic shouts of ‘that’s the best riff ever’ and ‘why aren’t that band bigger than they are, their new EP is killer’ and so on reverberate in the pub as dusk draws in.

We all love heavy music and the encompassing scene – indeed, the fact you are even reading this solidifies that notion – but for Adam Swarbick and Jim MacGranthin, the general manager of Bolton’s metallic watering hole The Alma Inn, love wasn’t enough:

“We were sat in the pub talking about the bands we love, great gigs, riffs and so on, as I’m sure we all do. I remember thinking ‘dude, let’s put everything we can into putting on the best show we can’. We planned the first Riff Fest [in 2014] about 9 months in advance, the idea being we’d have more chance of securing all the bands we wanted, being so far in advance. So we got to work, got a pen and paper, and wrote down all our favourite bands from across the UK, fortunately everyone said yes!”

Now preparing to launch its second edition of the festival – a free entry one-dayer featuring some heavy arse and frankly brilliant bands – the event can build on recent success seen around the country. From Desertfest’s continual growth and expansion to Red Sun in Cardiff, Yorkshire Riffer in Leeds and beyond, the scene is in absolute rude health right now. With a large contingent of this year’s line up being local to Manchester and the North West – Ten Foot Wizard, Nomad, Boss Keloid, Eyesaw, Pist, Barbarian Hermit, Mower, Arke & The Hicks – it promises to be a celebration of our area’s finest bludgeonings. That is, of course, alongside the unapologetic stomp of Gurt, Slabdragger and Raging Speedhorn, Trippy Wicked’s…erm…trippy wickedness and more.

So, with such a great line up, why are we allowed in for fuck all?

“I get asked a lot about this,” explains Swarbrick. “It was one of the first things we discussed, it being free. Unfortunately, myself and Jim have, in the past worked really hard to bring good bands here. Depressingly we realised a lot of folk were put off by a meagre entrance fee. So we thought, ‘fuck it! We’ll do it free’ so as to give people no excuse not to attend. We’re very keen on Riff Fest having a party vibe. I think all attendee’s from last year can attest to that. It was utterly rammed.

“The North West has always been a very active hive of great, passionate, hard-working bands. We will always keep local bands on. It’s so important to give the local bands a platform to display themselves on. Mower were first on last year, a relatively new band then. A year on and a lot of people are talking about them and rightly so.”

On the current blossoming of ‘stoner/doom’ festivals across the UK, Adam was quick to wax lyrical about the latest of these, Red Sun. “Red Sun blew me away and I made sure to personally congratulate the guys. They’d worked so hard on creating an independent festival. They succeeded.

“The scene is in good shape, although I must admit personally, I’m not a fan of the term ‘stoner/doom’, I think it covers such a broad spectrum now. In fact I think that’s why we called it something as simple as ‘Riff Fest’ rather than something more specific. As long as the band has got a heavy, catchy riff then it’s cool. We really wanted to book this solo artist on a steel guitar with a slide last year, so we’re quite open to bands style’s when booking. There really is a good support now; it doesn’t seem to be a flash in the pan either, which is obviously great. As long as we all (bands, fans, promoters) keep the faith, we’ll be here for a long time yet.

Obviously, from the punter/media angle, we only see the glory; the beers, the belting bands and the unforgettable, albeit blurry, memories. So what are the biggest challenges of putting on an event like Riff Fest?

“Easy. The running order! Sometimes you go to a gig, and let’s face it, sometimes bands are billed in terms of popularity/how well established they are/how ‘good’ they are. With Riff Fest every band has been booked because we love them and believe in them. I’m very keen to stress, that all these bands could headline the event in our eyes.

And finally, what are the biggest rewards and personally, who are you most looking forward to about this year's event?

“It sounds cheesy, but simply everyone having a great time. It’s coming up 12 months since the last one, people still say ‘dude that was the best day of last year.’ Many people still talk about it, and also how excited they are for this year’s. So that’s all the reward we could ask for.

“Just look at the line-up, it’s gold!”

Words: Phil Weller

For more information:

Facebook event - https://www.facebook.com/events/1544541289134935/

Hogslayer - 'Defacer' (Album Review)

Album Type: Full-Length

Date Released: 18/05/2015

Label: Undergroove Records

‘Defacer’ CD//DD track Listing

1). Slowhawk

2). Despiser

3). Wuelf Baanger

4). Bludgeon

5). Burn Them Out

6). Warcries

7). Bastards Of Reality

8). This Spiteful Cycle

9). Mealworm

Hogslayer is:

Vocals | Lord Bastard

Guitar | Baron Drakk

Bass | Otto Kraal

Bass | Damek Omsk

Drums | Max Von Beek

Review:

Hogslayer, the nasty sludge/noise mongers formed in 2012, have carved a festering, cankerous wound into the heavy Welsh music scene. They have annihilated stages with twinkly fairy music makers Dopethrone and Gurt to name a few.  Cardiff; famous for  being the home of the Millennium Stadium, the Welsh National Assembly and lest we forget the muscle clad rugger buggers of many a woman’s fantasies can put all of that to one side. Why? Well, when you eject the vicious bastards that form Hogslayer into the world everything else will pale into comparison.

The bands second album is certain to smash all-comers in 2015, bloody and pulverised it drags the listener in by the earholes, determined to stamp its bloody footprint on the soul of all who listen.  It is a pitiless onslaught of ballsy, gritty, filth ridden sludge bellowing with guttural, animalistic pleasure.

‘Defacer’ starts off its immense, solid offering with the first three tracks; ‘Slowhawk’, ‘Despiser’ and ‘Wuelf Baanger’ setting the stage for their own brand of balls to the wall, straight shot, earth shattering sludge.

The vocals; guttural and thunderous, meaty yet succinct; straight from the bowels of hell with extra added venom for your listening displeasure eases off enough for the music to do the shouting at times. The drums, relentless in their hammering, the skins screaming from the punishment yet resolute to perform to the end, the guitars sounding like a gift from the devil himself are thunderous in their approach.

Much respect to the guys who get to the bare bones from the off, they don’t hold back in their approach, like it or lump it, listen or don’t, they will tell you what they want to tell you. End of story, chapter and verse.

‘Warcries’ is just filth ridden; Monotonous, bleak and unforgiving, it ploughs on determined in its senseless destruction of anything that even thinks of being happy around it. So dirty it leaves you feeling the need for a Dettol bath and a shot of whisky for the shock.

‘Mealworm’ is their finale, with ear splitting feedback to start, once more consistent in its approach, it is a relative slow builder and throughout you feel as if they are holding back and for me as a finale this is a little lacklustre, given the abuse you’ve been subjected too previously.

Overall their heaviness is unmistakeable in its consistency; however one minor criticism levelled at the band is that the lack of variance, leave the record feeling a little stale by the albums conclusion. Hogslayer are not on a mission to rewrite the genre or set the world on fire with immense levels of guitar trickery, instead they offer harsh, soul crushing doom. Yes, whilst at times it sounds like they are making noise just for the sake of it, arguably therein lies the wart encrusted beauty of it.

In summation, If Unsane and Black Sabbath were to have a liquor soaked, drugged up one night stand; Hogslayer would be their bastard offspring.  A blunt, honest and evil sounding sludge album that crushes all around it, no question and heavier than a heavy thing on a heavy day in heavy world on a heavy planet.

Words by: Kat Hilton

‘Despiser’ is available here

For more information:  

Like: https://www.facebook.com/hogslayerband | Listen: https://hogslayer.bandcamp.com/

Official: http://www.hogslayer.co.uk/

The Sludgelord News: Sludge Metallers HOGSLAYER announce second album and UK tour

Sludge metal outfit HOGSLAYER are set to release their second album ‘Defacer’ via cult label Undergroove Records on May 4^th 2015.

The follow up to 2013's self titled release, Defacer showcases 8 tracks of evocative misery, infused with throat-stripping vocals that churn over sludgey, low slung grooves and hulking riffs. HOGSLAYER’S second album promises big and delivers bigger.

Formed in 2012, the year the world ended, HOGSLAYER rose from the ashes of Shaped By Fate and Zonderhoof, dragging with them their dank, squalid musical output.

For a taster of the band's sound, watch the video for the track Despiser here.

Says HOGSLAYER bassist Grym av Skugga, "Defacer is the result of us heading in a heavier and darker direction. We've made the decision to incorporate two bassists rather than two guitarists and taken a stripped down approach to the writing process, leaving a bleak and abysmal dissonance in its place. It’s our take on doom-ridden sludge and we’re looking forward to people hearing it.”

Having previously slaughtered the stage at Bloodstock Festival, the band are now set to tour the UK throughout March and April with more dates and festival appearances being added throughout the summer. Confirmed dates are as follows: 

Mar 25            Kraak, Manchester, UK    
Mar 26            Downstairs, Aberdeen, UK        
Mar 27            Cerberus Bar, Dundee, UK
Mar 28            Gorilla Studios, Hull, UK     
Mar 29            The Moon, Cardiff, UK  
Apr 05             The Moon, Cardiff, UK  
Apr 11             Hollowfest Doom All-Dayer, Bristol, UK
May 02            Red Sun Festival, Cardiff, UK
Aug 20            The Wheatsheaf, Oxford, UK

Keep up to date with tour info: http://www.bandsintown.com/Hogslayer

HOGSLAYER’S album ‘Defacer’ is set for worldwide release through Undergroove Records on May 4th, 2015.

Tracklisting:

1: Slowhawk

2: Despiser

3: Wülfbaanger

4: Bludgeon

5: Burn Them Out
6: Warcries
7: Bastards Of Reality
8: This Spiteful Cycle

HOGSLAYER is:

Lord Bastard – Throat
Barren Drakk – Guitar
Grym Av Skugga – Bass
Damek Ômsk - Bass
Max Von Beek – Drums

Source: Holdtight PR

For more HOGSLAYER info visit: 

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