INTERVIEW: “Saltbuck: Riffs That Crush, Tones That Suffocate"

 

We’re beyond stoked to welcome Saltbuck into the fold—a band whose sound hits like a landslide and lingers like smoke in the lungs. Known for their tectonic riffs, suffocating low-end, and a tone that feels carved from the bedrock of despair, Saltbuck have carved out a singular niche in the heavy music underground.

With a new album looming on the horizon—one that promises to be their most punishing and immersive yet—we sat down with the band to dig into their origins, their creative rituals, and the bleak vision fueling their next chapter. This isn’t just a signing—it’s a seismic shift.

Stay tuned for the full interview and exclusive insights into what’s coming. Saltbuck is here, and the ground beneath us is already trembling.

Introducing the band:

THE SLUDGELORD: For those unfamiliar with your band, could you share a bit about yourselves? How did you come together, and what led to the band’s formation?

We originally played together in our previous band, Sunstone, which was primarily a doom band. After releasing our second album, our drummer relocated to Australia, making it difficult to continue booking gigs. The three remaining members decided to regroup and focus on crafting some truly angry, filthy music.

The Making of "Gorb"
 
THE SLUDGELORD: Tell us about your latest record, "Gorb." Did your approach to this album differ from past releases? Did you change studios, gear, or aim for a new sound?
 
The writing process for "Gorb" was challenging. Our first album, "Cityslicker," came together quickly as we experimented and kept the ideas that resonated. However, the pandemic hit right in the middle of writing "Gorb," and since we work best collaborating in the rehearsal room rather than bringing in fully formed songs, it disrupted our usual flow.
 
Once we had the material, we chose to record with Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse. Wayne had previously produced excellent work for friends in the London doom scene—like Existence Dysphoria’s "Minus Negative," Borehead’s second EP, and Old Horn Tooth’s "True Death"—so working with him was an obvious choice. He really helped us highlight the raw, gritty aspects of our sound.
 
We also dropped our tuning even further to make the low notes hit especially hard, and we pushed for more grit in the guitar tones to create an extra gnarly sound. If you enjoy the overwhelming wall of sound from bands like Primitive Man and Bongripper, you’ll feel right at home with our music.

Writing, Rehearsals, and Recording Memories
 
THE SLUDGELORD: What was the writing and rehearsal process like for the album?
 
The writing and rehearsal process was heavily impacted by the pandemic, which forced us to adapt how we worked together. Our preference for in-person collaboration was challenged, but we managed to bring our material together despite the obstacles.
 
THE SLUDGELORD: What stands out as your most memorable moments from the recording sessions?

There are a few key memories: Wayne showing up on the first day riding a massive motorbike; the sheer heaviness in the room when we laid down the first rough track as a full band; and our singer/bassist absolutely letting loose on vocals—he really delivers when it counts.

 

Reflections on the Journey
 
THE SLUDGELORD: Now that the album is complete and just weeks from release, how do you feel about the journey of creating it? How does it represent your current creative state?
 
Finishing "Gorb" was a significant achievement, especially after the challenges we faced. The album reflects where we are creatively, capturing our growth as a band and our commitment to pushing our sound further.

The Album Artwork
 
THE SLUDGELORD: Album artwork often goes unnoticed, but it's an essential part of the record for me. Can you share how the artwork came together, your thoughts on the final result, and any favorite album covers?
 
At first, we thought we could quickly put together some artwork. However, we soon realized that it needed more thought. We began analyzing the album’s themes and our influences. Living in a large city deeply affects us—personally, professionally, and artistically. We’re also fans of sci-fi literature, which often inspires us.
 
We tried to translate our perception of the music into visuals, combining a sense of unease and bleakness with our influences. After reviewing various portfolios, we were drawn to the cover of 71TONMAN’s "End of Time" LP and chose the artist, CVSPE. It was a fantastic decision—he understood our vision quickly and, after a few iterations, we landed on the final artwork. CVSPE was professional, efficient, and easy to work with.

As for favorite album covers, there are too many to list, but some standouts include:

·       Fu Manchu – “In Search Of...”

·       Sleep – “Dopesmoker”

·       Blood Incantation – “Hidden History of the Human Race”

·       Mastodon – “Remission and Leviathan”

·       King Crimson – “In the Court of the Crimson King”

·       Pink Floyd – “Dark Side of the Moon”

·       Santana – “Santana”

THE SLUDGELORD: How closely does the artwork reflect the themes or mood of the music?
 
The artwork closely mirrors the album’s sense of unease and bleakness, aligning with the music and our lived experiences as artists in a metropolis influenced by sci-fi literature and heavy soundscapes.
 
Looking to the Future
 
THE SLUDGELORD: With the new record complete, what are your future plans?
 
We’ve been away from the scene for too long, and we’re eager to bring more heaviness. We have a couple of tracks left from the recording sessions—long, pounding songs that didn’t fit "Gorb" but deserve to be heard. Stay tuned for those.

Additionally, two of us are working on a new death/doom project with a mysterious third member. As longtime death metal fans, we’re excited to explore this direction more fully.
 
Final Thoughts

THE SLUDGELORD: Do you have any final words for our readers? Anything you’d like to say to fans who have supported you?
 
We’re honored to be part of the Sludgelord family. You know you’ll always find crushing music from this label, so don’t wait—grab a copy of "Gorb"! To all our fans, thank you for your ongoing support throughout our journey.

 

INTERVIEW: Records of their Years with Armed for Apocalypse guitarist Cayle Hunter

By: Aaron Pickford

Wow, where the hell does the time go, eh?  It has been 4 long years since our last Records of their Years feature and you must turn the clock back even further still, to 2013, since we last featured the sludge juggernaut that is Armed for Apocalypse.

The feature, which was published on June 21^st 2013, has stuck with me over the years for a couples of reasons,  firstly, I wrote the article on Fathers day and like today’s guest Cayle Hunter, he is also a family man and knows the struggles of balancing their work and home life against their passion for music and secondly, 9 years later, I am scratching my head and wondering why the hell are this band not huge by now.

People, that time is now, for in the year two thousand and twenty two, the riff gods have answered our prayers.  Armed for Apocalypse are back baby.  Not only that, they have also dropped their heaviest and best album to date in the form of “Ritual Violence” and today I have hooked with my mate, Cayle Hunter to discuss his “Records of their years”.

Before we get into that, remember, when you listen to their new album “One does not simply listen to Armed for Apocalypse, one must listen at maximum volume, to achieve maximum violence”

THE SLUDGELORD: Hey Cayle, thanks for doing this.  Can you tell our readers about your favourite album or albums from the year you were born? 

Cayle: This is a tough one because I’m old as hell, there were a ton of absolute classics that came out during that time, and I’ll bet my answer would have changed several times throughout my life. 

It should also be noted I’m answering your question, my favorite, not “the best”, because I think “Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac or The Clash self-titled are probably the best.

My favorite: “Bad Reputation” by Thin Lizzy. 

From the opening gong sound of “Soldier of Fortune” I am completely invested in this record, especially when it kicks right into the signature guitarmonies Lizzy does better than everyone, including Iron Maiden. The title track is a snarling rocker that definitely lands on the darker side of the band’s catalogue, which I love. 

The highlight for me, and what makes it my favorite from this year, is the back-to-back combo of “Southbound” and “Dancing in the Moonlight”. These two songs have been played in our band van hundreds of times. We walk around randomly singing the hooks out loud to each other and it gets a sing-along or a laugh every time. It’s a perfect soundtrack for driving through the open spaces of places you’ve never seen before, and I highly recommend the experience to everyone reading this.

THE SLUDGELORD: Who were some of your musical heroes growing up and how did the shape your musical journey? 

Cayle: My earliest musical heroes oddly enough were rappers. I grew up going to the worst elementary school in my town, but the kids there had great taste in music. My taste in hip hop followed the same arc as my taste in rock: I started light, then gravitated towards the darker or more extreme artists. At the time it was NWA pushing the limits, getting arrested, getting censored and having their music banned. They were so damn cool! Dr Dre is still a hero of mine to this day because the music he creates is so timeless, and Ice Cube scared every parent in America back then. Bad ass.

As I grew and my tastes evolved, I got new heroes. Black Sabbath. Page Hamilton. Bad Brains. Danzig. Pantera. Then I went back to see what music came before my time and found even more heroes. Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder etc. Far more than I can list here.

These heroes shaped my musical journey because of what they have in common. They don’t sound like anyone else, and they don’t want to sound like anyone else. They are independent thinkers who are only interested in sounding like the best version of themselves. That authenticity is my highest aspiration. True expression. We try our best to apply that to AforA.

THE SLUDGELORD: First record you bought with your own money, how old were you and where did you purchase it?

Cayle: Can I throw a little curve ball at this one and give you the first record I stole? Haha! It was “Vivid” by Living Colour, and I stole it from a drug store in Redding, California when I was in middle school. Great record, stupid thing to do.

The first CD I purchased with my own money was “Betty” by Helmet. I’ve talked about this a lot in the past, but that band and that record changed everything for me.

THE SLUDGELORD: An album or albums you bought based purely on the album artwork?

Cayle: This was a pretty normal occurrence for me before you could listen to everything so easily. My biggest hit is an easy one to remember: “Chaos A.D.” by Sepultura. I didn’t think the artwork was especially good, or even that striking really, but it was in the “Metal” section, the name was unique and it kept jumping out at me. I remember thinking it was going to sound industrial or something, which is why I didn’t pull the trigger. But one day I took the leap and was greeted by one of the finest collection of riffs ever assembled. A total classic.

It should also be said, I bought some complete bull shit based on the artwork too but finding “Chaos A.D.” was worth all of the failures.

THE SLUDGELORD: What is your go to non-metal / rock album?

Cayle: Man! These are such tough questions! You keep asking me to be so decisive when I love so much music!

If I have to pick one, it would probably be the blue album by Weezer. To me it’s perfect. It’s pop music played in a heavy way. The guitar and bass tone on that record would put most stoner and doom bands to shame, and there is a melancholy to it that makes it personal and relatable. 

It’s my favorite driving record, and driving is my favorite time to listen to music. 

THE SLUDGELORD: An album from the past or present that disappointed you at the time but you have since grown to love?

Cayle: This is the most embarrassing answer ever, especially coming from a metal head, so please don’t laugh me off the internet: “The Great Southern Trendkill” by Pantera. 

I KNOW!!!!

I don’t know what I was expecting, and to this day I can’t imagine why I didn’t connect with it on the first listen. I do remember going through an artsy fartsy stage at the time and being sort of turned off by the overtly macho side of metal for a while, but that’s no excuse. 

Later, after I got over being cooler-than-though, I gave it another shot and was immediately filled with shame. I had slept on one of the best metal records ever for no good god damn reason. We all make mistakes…

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

Cayle: I do not have a favorite album. I have an upper echelon of records and it’s impossible to pick one. But I don’t want to be a coward and ditch this question, so I’ll say “NOLA” by Down.

This was another record I missed out on, but I didn’t sleep on it as much as I simply didn’t hear about it. I remember my friend telling me one day that Phil from Pantera had a band with the dudes from Crowbar, COC and Eyehategod and I thought he was joking! Then he said, “I heard it’s not that great”, and I didn’t even know what it was called so I didn’t really go dig for it. Then one day he had it in his car and we checked it out. Game over.

The cool part about that record is the more I listened to it the more I loved it. I liked it at first, I love it like an old friend now. It’s like Black Sabbath and tuned-down Lynyrd Skynyrd with Phil Anslemo singing over it, at the top of his game no less. It simply doesn’t get old.

There was a time that I owned four copies of that record. One for my car, one for my house, one for work and one to have in a CD folder to take in other people’s cars in case they didn’t have it. That’s how badly I wanted it around me at all times.

THE SLUDGELORD: What are some of your favourite album (s) of year?

Cayle: In no particular order:

Conjurer, “Pathos”

Fit For an Autopsy, “Oh What the Future Holds”

Cult of Luna “The Long Road North”

Cave In “Heavy Pendulum”

Immolation “Acts of God”

Bloodmoon: I

Undeath “It’s Time…To Rise from the Grave”

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

Cayle: Conjurer, “Pathos”. Always have to support great friends doing great things! 

…and remember

Band info:  facebook

INTERVIEW: Rouen blackened hardcore merchants Pilori discuss their genre bending new record

Stéphane Marry (c) @pixels.story

“Hell is only a word, the reality is much worse” Event Horizon 1997

Delivering a record with the ferocity and intensity of Pilori’s sophomore Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous,” roughly translated as “Even though Hell and the Deluge Would Fall on Us”, makes me wonder whether the band themselves, have actually visited hell and brought this record back with them.

To experience “Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous“in all its hellish glory, is to imagine being wrapped up in barbed wire and thrown down a hill.  Today we have invited front man Greg from Pilori to discuss how this punishing record came to be.  

SL: Hey Greg, welcome to THE SLUDGELORD!! Could you tell our readers a little about yourself, how you started playing music, leading up to the formation of your band?

 Gr. (vocals): First of all, I wanna say 'hi !' to all the readers of this. Then, we're Pilori, we come from Rouen, in Normandy (France), and we're four lads in the band. As so many and many bands, the start of Pilori is simple and not so interesting. I know my guitarist, R., for years now and one day, at the release party of his other band, The Birds End, which is instrumental post-rock, he came to see me cause he wanna play something different, something more in his black metal/death metal/crust hardcore roots. I was fucking excited about the idea to play this kind of sounds that I loved, but even more excited to play with him cause he’s a fucking good guitarist and a fucking good guy. We began to write the first tracks, we began to looking for musicians to play with us... So it was, as simple as it seems, the beginning of Pilori. Nothing more. You see : not interesting haha !

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

Gr. (vocals): I think that Pilori is a sum of a lot of different bands, of a lot of different influences. I think this is our print now, our style, and it's that people often write and say about us. You can find black and death influences, blend with some grind, chaotic and crust influences. So, I could tell about bands like Napalm Death, Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Angelcorpse, Immortal, Watain, Rotten Sound, Darkthrone, Nails, Full of Hell, Gaza, Cult Leader... For the most recent stuffs, and also more local cause they're french, I wanna also talk about Fange, Mourir, Plebeian Grandstand, Celeste...

I just talk about bands from the scene that we really like, cause we aren't listen just extreme music. For example, I'm a huge listener of post-punk shit and there are a lot of bands who inspired me in this kind of sounds. It's the same for the other members. I really think that the other genres are opening us to new sounds and allows us to try new things.

SL: What can you tell us about your latest record “Quand Bien Même L'Enfer et le Déluge S'abattraient sur Nous” and where do you feel it sits within the context of your local scene and the wider metal scene as a whole?

Gr. (vocals) : I can tell you something simple and very cliché : we're fucking proud of it ! But I mean it a lot! When you read many interviews of many bands, especially mainstream bands, they're still proud of their new album even if it sounds like shit compared to the oldest. But it's just some promotion talks. Corey Taylor is a specialist of it, but who really think that Slipknot's new records are better than the first ones? Anyway, we're so proud of this second LP, we're proud of our writing process, of the production, the way it sounds, ‘cause we worked a lot on it, even harder than we worked on “À Nos Morts”. On our first record, nobody expecting us, and even us we don't know what we can expect. We just wanna made a LP, period. Nothing more, nothing less. For this new one, we want more haha ! We knew ourselves better, what we want to do, what we can do, and we prepare it the most that we can do. I also think that we find our own sound, our “Pilori style”, and we assume it more.

Personally, there are plenty of songs in this album that I really really like, that I like to listen to, that I like to play. I like my own voice, what I've done, which is not always the case, even if I still think that here or here I could do more, I could bo better... Regarding our local scene, in Rouen, I think that no one does the same sound or the same style as us. I also think this is real for the French scene in general. We're pretty unique haha !!! But I don't like comparison, competition, so I'll stop it right now.

SL: What was the writing and rehearsal process like for your album

Gr. (vocals): Our first LP, “À Nos Morts”, was released in May 2020, during the Covid pandemic. So we were in a dynamic, we wanna make things, and in the meantime we were very frustrated, but not resigned. We try our best to take all the opportunities to play and tour when it was possible, and we also have some times to keep writing songs with the curfew or lockdown. This first album was very well-received, so it motivated us a lot. We took this dynamic and this frustration, and, in addition to “classic” rehearsals, two times we rent an Airbnb in the Normandy countryside, in the middle of nowhere, and lock ourselves during days, to write this new album. We just played music all day long between us. After that, we keep writing and make the song arrangements from home cause it's very easy now, all the new technologies allowed it.

 

SL: What stands out as your overarching memory from the recording sessions?
 
Gr. (vocals): A lot of positive things. Really. Even if I try hard, I can't remember something negative. We were very well-prepared, we made demo of each song, we went a lot in rehearsals, and we recorded in a place that we know by heart with a guy who know us by heart (La Gare aux Musiques with Bertrand Lebourgeois, at 30 kms of Rouen). When we made our first album, we were less prepared, and, except for the drum parts, we done it in some kind of DIY spirit, ‘cause we recorded it ourselves in the super tiny home studio of our former bassist.
 
For this new record, we took more times, in a “real” studio with better stuffs, better materials, and a “real” sound guy. Everything was easier, and every one of us was super excited to play and record his parts. If I could keep just one memory, I would say the first day of guitar takes. When my drummer, my bass player and me came at the studio, our guitarist was already there and has already prepared all his stuffs with our sound guy. There were 4 cabinets with 4 amp heads and a ton of pedals around, and nearly ten mics to record all this shit. I can easily remember the smile on all our faces, and the excitation that we all felt at the moment where we started recording the guitar and when we heard that crazy sound.
 
SL: Does anything spring to mind when you think about the completion of your new album and with than in mind, how is the mood in the camp at present?

Gr. (vocals): In our camp, the mood is always good, always positive! I think that is why the things goes so well for Pilori : I've the huge chance to work with great dudes who are great friends, they all have a good mentality, a good state of mind. I'm serious, I mean it, this is the best line-up and the best people to work with. So, the mood is offensive now: we wanna do things, play a lot, defend this album anywhere and everywhere !

SL: There is often very little focus given to the album artwork, which for me is an integral part of the record, can you tell us a little about the artist, how the artwork come to fruition and your thoughts on the completed piece?  Perhaps tell us about some of your own favourite album covers?
 
Gr. (vocals): The artwork was made by an Indonesian artist, Jois Cabe. He's also the guy behind our first album cover. It's an amazing artist and a great dude, it was a real pleasure to work with him again. I've just gave him the name of the album, the meaning of it, and he can do whatever he want and feel. Our talks and exchanges were good, he quickly understood the point. Like you, the visuals are an important part of an album for me, and I really think that this artwork is the perfect fit for this album. We're very proud of it, really, we find it awesome, more than expected! And we've very good feedback on it.
To talk about my favorite album covers, I just wanna say that I've always loved covers without artist names. When you have just an artwork, a visual, and no other infos. I always found it great, that's why we do it with Pilori haha!
 
SL: With your new record completed, what are you planning as far as shows in the near future?
 
Gr. (vocals): We plan to do a lot of shows cause we love playing and touring so much. Be on the road, it's one of the thing we like the most. So it's the plan: play as much as possible, anywhere. Till the end of 2022, we already have 19 shows scheduled, in Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and for sure, in France. Some shows and tour are also already booked for 2023. And, when we'll be tired about playing and touring, we'll do a new album !
 
SL: Finally, do you have any last words?
 
Gr. (vocals): Thanks to you for your interest, thanks to everyone who's reading this, thanks to everyone who support us in any way.  And don't forget to support your local scene and independent/underground bands. Go to the shows in the tiny club of your city, buy some merch, and keep listening to all the underground scene. It's always a thug time for this scene, and it's always getting worse and worse. So many independent venues are closing...
 
The End.

Band info: piloriband

ALBUM REVIEW: Coffin Curse, "Cease to Be"

By: Chris Markwell

Music is, at its heart, the joy of discovery.  There’s nothing quite like finding a new sound, a new band, that instantly sparks your imagination, or leaves you wanting to learn more.  

When I was handed Coffin Curse’s debut album “Ceased to Be”, I was intrigued.  Being released on 27 January 2020 through Memento Mori, this is classic, old-school death metal, with gut-punch riffery and haunting, reverb-soaked solos. 

This was a discovery.  I had to learn more.  

Information about the band itself, however, was quite difficult to find.  So, I went ahead and sent them a message through the aether of the internet, and was pleasantly surprised to find them more than happy to interact with this enamoured fan

Sludgelord) Hello there, please introduce yourselves

Hi Chris, first of all we want to thank you for your support and dissemination for this rotten death metal crusade. The band is called Coffin Curse, formed by Carlos Fuentes and Max Neira, in the over-polluted city of Santiago, the capital city of Chile, a country located in the far south of this planet. 

Sludgelord) How long has Coffin Curse been a band, and were you in any bands before this one? 

Coffin Curse was formed in 2012, primarily as an alternate project. Our main band until that moment was Inanna, a death metal horde that has remained uninterrupted since 2000. Between the two of us, we have participated in various metal outfits like Trimegisto, Death Smell, Perpetuum, Sol Sistere and others that this alcoholic memory does not allow me to remember now. 

Sludgelord) What is the metal scene like in Chile? 

If we put everything together as one scene, we can say that it has been very strong since 1983 approximately. The number of bands is almost overwhelming, and we could name a hundred excellent projects for more than 30 years of history. In each town starting at the north end to the bitter cold of the Magallanes region, it is full of hate and crap that is synthesized as metal music. Nowadays, is like A set of micro-scenes in a bag, nobody cares much about music at a national level, if not at a level at which each zone supports its own bands or friends, which it’s OK, I think. New generations have appeared and the bands multiply. In our particular case, we’re getting old and we are not very interested about social life and shit besides METAL.

Sludgelord) Do you have any tour dates lined up? 

Nothing apart from a visit planned for February 22 in the city of Santa Bárbara

located in the south of the country. 

Sludgelord) Where would you like to tour? 

Leaving aside our own country, we would be interested to know Perú, parts of Europe and the US. We hope that with the release of our first full-length a good & nasty tour can be realized, wherever.

I am very grateful to both Carlos Fuentes and Max Neira for taking the time and effort to respond to my questions, it’s very much appreciated.  

So, the Chilean two-piece have created this album with intent to destroy speakers worldwide.  And they should succeed: what they lack in band members, they more than make up for in musical texture.  Seriously, just two guys made this?? The riffs are rampant, the vocals are so guttural they could shred steel, and the drumming is the relentless pounding that quickens the heartbeat in excitement.  

Eight songs, two maniacs, no regrets.  My personal pick of the bunch is “Deep in Streams of Purifying Dirt”, which starts with this doomy, tolling intro, which then rips into this hacking, mauling terror, full of time changes and vicious vocals.  Imagine if “South of Heaven” era Slayer got into a bar fight with Necrophagist, and you may get the idea.  

Coffin Curse’s “Ceased to Be” is a statement of intent.  It’s a joy to listen to, and shows that Chilean death metal is definitely a worthwhile scene to experience.  It’s a hard-hitting debut release: put this on, crank it up, and feel the touch of death upon you.  

Band info: facebook  || bandcamp

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