ALBUM REVIEW: Seven Planets, "Explorer"

By: Peter Morsellino 

Album Type: Full Length  Date Released: 07/02/2020 

Label: Small Stone Records 

“Explorer” CD//DD//LP track listing: 

1). Vanguard 

2). Plain Truth in a Homespun Dress 

3). Explorer 

4). 206 

5). Seven Seas 

6). Great Attractor 

7). Grissom 

8). The Buzzard 

The Review: 

Light em up if you got em, folks, we're going for a ride. 

Is been eight long years since the last album by these West Virginian kings of the Acid Blues, but it is immediately apparent upon starting this bad boy up that Seven Planets has accumulated absolutely no rust. In only a touch over 35 minutes, this album takes you on a tour of the galaxy, leaving no stone unturned in their search for badass stoner jams and crushing riffs. 

If there is one thing that is very clear when it comes to this release, it is that Seven Planets has not been sitting around for these past eight years. Taking time off to fight personal battles (guitarist Leonard Hanks' cancer diagnosis, for one) did not mean that the music was placed on the shelf. There is a very real feeling of release to this album. These sounds have been bouncing around these guys' heads for the past eight years and now that it has been released into the world, there is nothing that can stop it. 

Continuing and expanding upon the path laid out by their previous albums, “Explorer” is a groove laden trek through the furthest reaches of Stoner Rock. The beats hit hard, the atmospheres are far out and the jams hit right in the sweet spot to take the listener to outer space before bringing them back down to earth with some balls out fist in the air riffage. It's a goddamn good time. 

And that is really the undeniable fact about this album. It's just so much fun. Seven Planets could have come back from an eight year hiatus with a chip on their shoulder and laid down some angry trudging riffs and in all honesty it probably would have been awesome. But instead they have conquered their demons and released an album of triumphant joy. 

This is a band that has gone through hell and returned to show us not only that hell, but the beauty that they've encountered on their way there and back. If you're looking for some fantastic acid grooves and progressive blues jams then this is the album for you. 

“Explorer” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook 

ALBUM REVIEW: Russian Circles, "Blood Year"

By: Eeli Helim

Album Type: Full-length
Date Released: 02/08/19
Label: Sargent House

”Blood Year” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Hunter Moon

2. Arluck

3. Milano

4. Kohokia

5. Ghost on High

6. Sinaia

7. Quartered

The Review:

 "Blood Year" is Russian Circles' seventh album and fourth released by Sargent House. Three years after the instrumental post-metal-ish acts' last album "Guidance", the trio returns in a stronger and more vivid form, matching and even surpassing all the expectations one could've possibly set for the new album.

Whenever bringing up the subject of contemporary, metal-rooted instrumental music, it's practically impossible to survive through the discussion without mentioning Russian Circles. The band's influence on the scene is indisputable, having released a strong and powerful set of albums with unbroken quality standards within the past fifteen years. "Blood Year" provokes haunting imagery of empty streets and post-apocalyptic ruins, much like their earlier albums, but with a more dismal and moving elegance.

After the intro track "Hunter Moon" built entirely on ambient guitars, a rhythmical drum beat and bass lead set off the second track "Arluck", also giving the tone for the rest of the album. Built on simple movements and easily comprehensible patterns, the band demonstrates their stronger output right from the beginning, lifting the track amongst the prime picks of "Blood Year". The atmosphere is eerie, even more so than it has been before. This continues on the following pair "Milano" and "Kohokia". The flow is consistent and flawless, and the tracks are structured to appear both interesting and sensible throughout. I also appreciate the fact that they experiment and play around with tones very little; the main weight is on good and clever compositions and organic, natural emotions caused by just that.

"Ghost on High" is an intermission piece similar to the first track, leading seamlessly into "Sinaia", the longest, most varied, and bleakest of the bunch. At this point it's noteworthy to mention that the whole album has its own distinct feel and characteristics that separate it from Russian Circles' past albums. While the melancholic aspects are there, the sadness never gets overwhelming, not on this record at least. "Sinaia" is a genuine post-metal track that despite it's own moments, doesn't leave as permanent mark to your memory as the other tracks. The course is still kept steady, and the final track is guaranteed to floor you completely. "Quartered" seems to partly abandon the emotional side and fill the spot it left with more violent and pummeling drive, bringing the album to end completely somewhere else in contrast to where it began. The track also excels to mirror its name, inducing sensations of having your limbs torn apart for one reason or the other.

The overall feeling is what sets this album well apart from the others, relying on something else rather than your run-of-the-mill aesthetics. It's hard to say if "Blood Year" is Russian Circles' best album to date, but it sure as hell is worth all the repeats and time it takes to listen to it. Reverting back to what I wrote earlier, the level of quality is still higher than most and stays unshaken.

”Blood Year” is available HERE

Band info: facebook 

ALBUM REVIEW: Yawning Man, ‘Macedonian Lines’

By: Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 14/06/2019

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds

What you have here is sublimely crafted and utterly beautiful musical moments which don’t outstay their welcome and leave you wanting more.

‘Macedonian Lines’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Virtual Funeral

2. Macedonian Lines

3. Melancholy Sadie

4. Bowie's Last Breath

5. I'm Not An Indian (But I Play One On TV)

6. I Make Weird Choices

The Review:

It has often been said that bands who stick around forever eventually lose some or all of their creative pulse and start churning out music of ever-decreasing relevance and quality. That claim can be laid at the feet of so many acts: from the Rolling Stones to Helmet and Aerosmith to Metallica. Those groups might remain incendiary in a live setting but let’s be honest – when was the last time you listened to “A Bigger Bang”, “Dead to The World”, “Music from Another Dimension” or “Hardwired…. To Self-Destruct?”

Kudos then to Yawning Man for turning that theory on its head by brewing up their best works thirty-odd years into their musical journey. Those generator parties outside La Quinta in the Californian desert in the mid-1980s must feel like a long time ago to sonic travellers Mario Lalli and Garcy Arce, but the spirit of those events can still be found deep within the grooves of “Macedonian Lines”.

If their stunning 2016 third album “Historical Graffiti” started a purple patch, last year’s “The Revolt Against Tired Noises” consolidated their reputation as masters of their art. Ambient and achingly melancholy, it tingled and shone and soared and sounded like heaven. “Macedonian Lines” wisely doesn’t try to trump it. There was no point them trying: nothing will ever better “Black Kite” which opened that 2018 opus.

On this new record the trio take their “less is more” approach one step further: from the flab-free 31-minute running time to the effortless ease with which these six tracks roll and undulate without any unnecessary excess. Whilst all the Yawning Man trademarks are present and correct, “Macedonian Lines” belongs to four-stringer Mario Lalli. His bass owns this album, underpinning everything. On seven-minute opening cut “Virtual Funeral” Gary Arce’s instantly familiar guitar progressions are anchored by Lalli’s fat, fuzzed bassline and from there on his presence dominates the album’s sound.

The title track reeks of wide-open spaces and is pure musical cinema, whilst “Melancholy Sadie”’s echo-drenched sweet gloop of multi-tracked, picked guitar notes builds into a thick and filling sonic melange. An album highlight is “I’m Not A Real Indian”’s elegiac final 50-second sprint, which motors along and will sound fantastic this summer with the top down on a mid-American highway. It’s the kind of musical moment you don’t ever want to end.

They leave the best to last. Final cut “I Make Weird Choices” is a monster, gliding along until it’s explosive coda before fading into an unassuming close which neatly defines everything that’s great about Yawning Man. Lalli’s rumbling, guttural bass is the perfect counterpoint to Arce’s lush soloing, with Bill Stinson’s subtle drum work giving both of them acres of room to breathe. No showing off, just sublimely crafted and utterly beautiful musical moments which don’t outstay their welcome and leave you wanting more.

When “Macedonian Lines” ends, all you want to do is listen to more Yawning Man because nothing else will do. And that is why this defining, vital band is as important today as it was way back in 1986. Long may they reign.

‘Macedonian Lines’ is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

VIDEO PREMIERE: Orso deliver the unique the intense and the monolithic with "Mitraillette"

Born again from the ashes of bands such as Kruger, Lausanne based instrumental post metalists, Orso play slow, thick and massive music, consisting of three guitars, a bass and drums, their music is tainted with dark melancholia.   Following up their debut EP “Primi Piatti” back in 2016, Orso are set to release their debut full length on the 5^th April, entitled “Paninoteca” via Czar of Crickets and today we’re excited to debut a video for the track “Mitraillette” taken from the album. 

Preorders are available HERE and you can check out the video in full below. 

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

TRACK PREMIERE: BLCKWVS return with their trademark monolithic doom on "0165"

An ambitious undertaking that has been 4 years in the making, on February 22^nd 2019 German Doom/Sludge outfit BLCKWVS will issued their new album “0160” via This Charming Man Records. It will come as no surprise to those familiar with the band that every song is recorded and released in their typical, monolithic style,  but not only that the record is teaming with guest appearances.


Musically “0160” sounds like a bulldozer flattening everything that stands in the way and today at THE SLUDGELORD you can check out a brand new track feat. Sarah from BLACK VULPINE below. 

Band info: facebook || instagram || bandcamp

TRACK PREMIERE: Ølten deliver a titan of sonic manipulations on "Raus"

Formed in 2012, Ølten are a three piece armed with one guitar, one bass, and a drum kit, taking these individual elements they have coalesced into a titan of sonic manipulations, a trio that doesn’t always need to flex its muscles to display raw power. Their new record “Ambiance” is set for release via Hummus Records on November 2^nd,  and you can check out a brand new track entitled “Raus” below.  Preorders for “Ambiance” are being taken (HERE) and band offer some insight to the structure and sound of the track below

The intro riff shares similar sounds with our friends from Unfold, a Swiss band we've all admired for years. This track then continues with a long central part a bit "prog": two guitar notes, four moog notes. And finally, a trax whose brakes give out on the way down.

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Yawning Man, ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’

By: Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/07/2018

Label: Heavy Psych Sounds

Yawning Man have upped their game. They’ve always been life affirming, but now they’re just plain vital. ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is nothing short of sheer sonic perfection.

 ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Black Kite
2. Revolt Against Tired Noises
3. Skyline Pressure
4. Grant’s Heart
5. Violent Lights
6. Catamaran
7. Misfortune Cookies
8. Ghost Beach

The Review:

It’s been a long, strange and beautiful ride for Yawning Man. From their infamous generator parties in the Californian deserts in the late 1980s to their stunning 2016 third album ‘Historical Graffiti’, guitarist Gary Arce and bassist Mario Lalli have built their musical legacy at a snail’s pace and with scant regard for commercial considerations. Their lush, trippy, widescreen instrumental compositions have thrilled those in the know, with live shows becoming borderline religious experiences. ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is easily and by some stretch the best Yawning Man album to date.

Opening cut ‘Black Kite’ is the finest piece of music they’ve put their name to. Indeed, it might just be the most perfect five minutes of rock you’ll wrap your ears around in 2018. Ambient, achingly melancholy, it tingles and shines and soars and sounds like heaven. There are several other equally breath-taking Yawning Man classics here, but the big curve ball and shock news for hardcore fans is that two songs feature Mario Lalli on vocals. And wonderful they are too: ‘Grant’s Heart’ benefits from his wondrous syrupy crooning, adding a whole new emotional layer over the sumptuous lead guitar lines underneath. The second sung song sees Yawning Man finally commit ‘Catamaran’ to vinyl: their own composition, but one made famous by Kyuss on the stoner kings 1995 album ‘The Circus Leaves Town’.

Yawning Man have upped their game. They’ve always been life affirming, but now they’re just plain vital. ‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is nothing short of sheer sonic perfection.

‘The Revolt Against Tired Noises’ is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Bongripper, "Terminal"

By: Jay Hamphsire

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/072018

Label: The Great Barrier Records

The shorter form sees Bongripper keep things lean with ‘Terminal’, losing none of their signature heft, brutal tone or hypnotic, meditative sway, gaining an unconstrained momentum and razor edged focus that cannot be denied.

“Terminal” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Slow

2). Death

The Review:

Chicago’s Bongripper are the doom bands’ doom band. For nearly fifteen years they’ve waged a campaign of sonic terror and aural battery that has won respect and admiration from fans and other artists alike. Their long-form, instrumental tirades are at once crushingly heavy and achingly melancholic, often wandering off into ethereal lightness. Seventh full length ‘Terminal’ is no exception.

First things first, yes, by their own lofty standards, ‘Terminal’ is relatively breezy. Weighing in at around 40 minutes, it’s removed from the epic crawls of the hour plus ‘Satan Worshipping Doom’, ‘Miserable’ and ‘Hippie Killer’. But this comparable brevity serves the band incredibly well; split into the roughly equal halves of ‘Slow’ and ‘Death’, the record is a distillation of everything at which Bongripper excel, namely heaving atmospherics and incalculable numbers of riff.

‘Slow’ broods with synth before building feedback like a swelling thunderhead, Daniel O'Connor’s massive kick strikes a focal point amid the growing intensity. They tease the drop, keeping you waiting, before it falls in like a basement ceiling. Droning, grinding chords shift like plate tectonics, riffs changing organically and inexorably before things fade out into a wistful, drifting clean guitar chime. Layer by layer, the band construct this wearied groove, rising further and further, spurred by the guiding force of Ronald Petzke’s driving bassline. When the ‘heavy’ comes back in, it’s suffocatingly dense, inhabiting all possible aural space, the single locked in chords raining down like hammer blows as a guitar overlay drenched in reverb spirals off into the void. It’s towering, climactic stuff. But the ‘ripper ain’t finished with you yet.

As the first track bleeds into ‘Death’ with creeping static and roiling synths, before the second song asserts dominance with a swaggering riff that steadily dredges deeper and deeper, slowing, bloating and staggering amidst pounding toms. The band show canny use of negative space, before earth shattering kicks ushering a rolling mid-tempo groove and needling guitar overlay that comes right out of left field. Back into their original dredging groove, any sense of comfort or familiarity is whipped away once more by a strident, sludgy guitar gallop, tight triplets descending into throbbing feedback. Uniting once more into hammerblow chords, Nick Dellacroce and Dennis Pleckham conjure a steadily maddening atonal guitar duel that rides the waves of unstoppable drums.

The shorter form sees Bongripper keep things lean with ‘Terminal’, losing none of their signature heft, brutal tone or hypnotic, meditative sway, gaining an unconstrained momentum and razor edged focus that cannot be denied. Perfectly crafted, and well worth the four year wait.

“Terminal” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Wychhound, "Earth Orbiter"

By: David Jupp

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/05/2018

Label: Independent

The many audio-faces that tell the story of ‘Earth Orbiter’ are proof, that if instrumental music is judged right, executed well, and arranged with craft, riffs beat words. Every damn time.

“Earth Orbiter” DD track listing:

1). Flux

2). Supercluster

3). Comet Shoemaker – Levy 9 (SL-9)

4). Aurora

5). Matter – Antimatter Annihilation

The Review:

When a band parts company with their singer, the ensuing discussion generally goes something like this. ‘Fuck! It won’t be the same man, someone else singing those songs. They might as well pack it in.’ Well in 2017 and only two years on from their debut EP, Wychhound did just this by saying farewell to singer Jimmy Holifield. Rather than start the depressing trudge through London’s abundance of awful singers, the band decided to strike out on a new path as an instrumental four-piece. Shedding the crutches a vocalist provides in both immediacy and structure is a brave decision, and especially risky when you already have an established following who expect ‘songs.’ So, as Wychhound set forth on a new journey the question is, can they fill the yawning void left by words?

‘Earth Orbiter’ sets flight to a wall of feedback. As the pressure builds and ‘Flux’ ignites, Wychhound let fly with a barrage of strings, cymbals and skins. It soon becomes clear how the wordless quartet intend on bringing their old fans with them, and to be honest it’s the oldest trick in the book. Big riffs. Lots of them. Really fast. Before you even reach the minute mark Wychhound have twisted their audio-rubix-cube three times. Twist one, swaggering math-groove. Twist two, euphoric chord progression. Twist again, Tool inflected grunge-swerve. As minute two lands guitarist Miles Mcdonald swaggers in with a howling solo and boots the whole metaphor out the window. Singers? Pfft.

The success of instrumental heavy music revolves around a bands ability to judge phrasing. Without lyrics to convey a message you are left with the subtle art of assembling meaning from a jigsaw of riffs. It’s like the best kind of sign language, hold a riff out for too long and the listener grows bored, take it away too quickly and the message is lost. Track two ‘Supercluster’ serves as an advanced elocution lesson in riff-annunciation. Guitarist Roberto Pini kicks things off with a superb off-kilter riff before Mcdonald laces another emotive lead into the fray. Just as the narrative begins to wane bass player Neil Neighbour and drummer Sid Nagdhi grab the track by the low-end and spread a stuttering bang all over it.

Having seen Wychhound cultivate the seeds of these songs across a variety of London’s venues in the last year I must admit that when I first saw the artwork for the record I didn’t really get it. Don’t get me wrong the art looks great but I didn’t quite see what a planet of faces had to do with the songs I had heard.

Named after a comet that broke apart in 1992 and collided with Jupiter, ‘Comet Shoemaker – Levy 9 (SL-9)’s seven-minutes of aching slow-dawn soon provide me with the artworks meaning. Wychhound are a band with many faces. Just as the opening act of the record’s focus sharpens into a prog-metal guise the second movement softens into soaring arpeggiated post-rock.

Great records are made in small increments. The stunning arpeggio that permeates ‘Comet...’s skyline progression is beautiful enough, but exceptional bands always reach for that extra percent. So, as Mcdonald’s triads arc into the records second half, Roberto Pini’s haunting e-bow adds that last extra lift and I challenge anyone not to crane their neck and sigh.

Next up is ‘Aurora.’ Until now Wychhound’s sophomore effort has worn its influences on its sleeve and that doesn’t stop here. Tool, Russian Circles, early Barrows and “Zidane”-era Mogwai have all stirred in places, but now Elder’s totemic influence on the contemporary heavy landscape looms into view. Luckily Wychhound have no intention of merely paying homage and as the Boston trio’s ‘Spires Burn/Release’ EP flickers in the distance the band re-apply their riff-sculpture and successfully carve another fresh face into the records strata.

‘Matter – Antimatter Annihilation’ brings the album to a close and makes a welcome return to the cinematic melodies of ‘Comet Shoemaker.’ As the spiralling guitar-runs that litter ‘Earth Orbiter’ arch back and dive into another surging chord sequence all fears of a loss of narrative are expelled and the record re-enters the atmosphere on a surge of hefty tone. 

In the last year Wychhound have become a staple of London’s burgeoning heavy-scene. So, by making the decision to record ‘Earth Orbiter’ live, I’m glad to say they have successfully captured the ebb, flow, movement and act that make their live show so popular. What’s more impressive however, is the successful progression from traditional stoner band into a new instrumental landscape. In music, just because a choice is brave doesn’t necessarily mean it is right, so in shedding their singer Wychhound could have easily gotten lost in a sea of riffs that lacked narrative. Luckily the many audio-faces that tell the story of ‘Earth Orbiter’ are proof, that if instrumental music is judged right, executed well, and arranged with craft, riffs beat words. Every damn time.

“Earth Orbiter” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Sativa Root - "Oneiroid"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/02/2018

Label: Marijunaut Records

Sativa Root manages to sound fresh and original, doing a doom and sludge infused sound that seems more methodical and strong than meditative. The absolutely ripping "Morlock" makes it clear Sativa Root is worth checking out if you get a chance to see them live. Powerful stuff.

“Oneiroid” CD//DD track listing

1. Intro

2. Bloodrigs

3. Funeral of the Witch

4. Deathclaw

5. Tabarnak

6. Morlock

The Review:

2018 has begun with the announcement of a slew of zombie films. Day of the Dead: Bloodline, Patient Zero, The Forest of Hands and Teeth and the Rise of the Living Dead are just four of the movies joining World War Z 2 this year. This horror genre is polarizing – you love it, or you hate it – but it is indisputably popular worldwide with audiences. And the latest evolution, spawned largely by 28 Days Later, of chaotic, sprinting monsters, is similarly rattling – not just because such is a departure for creator George A. Romero's vision, but because the very idea of flesh-eating furies chasing you at full gallop and stoppable only with headshots feels completely disturbing. Shambling undead are the stuff of black and white movies. Raving beasts are the stuff of colorful nightmares.

If you close your eyes and think of one of these new incarnations on film, with snarling, scrambling dirt-and-blood-covered maniacs coming for you, it is a guarantee that the zombie apocalypse would be soundtracked by "Oneiroid," the new album by Sativa Root.

Instrumental metal is arguably some of the purest of extreme music out there, because it is solely about the concoctions the bands put together. Mood is determined by your imagination rather than lyrics. With Austrian doom/sludge trio Sativa Root, the music is some of the more immersive metal you will find, as it is absolutely claustrophobic from "Bloodrigs" (the introductory cut is ultra-short) onward. Power chords, massive drums and muddy bass rule the day from the start, and then into "Funeral of the Witch."

There are many really great instrumental metal acts – Major Kong pops to mind immediately – and Sativa Root takes its place among them, putting in impressive work on "Deathclaw." Similarly, a track like "Tabarnak" is immense in the ground it covers and the sheer quality of what the band offers. Sativa Root manages to sound fresh and original, doing a doom and sludge infused sound that seems more methodical and strong than meditative. The absolutely ripping "Morlock" makes it clear Sativa Root is worth checking out if you get a chance to see them live. Powerful stuff.

"Oneiroid" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook