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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
Ether succeeds
at being a heterogeneous strain in the sludge metal pool and how that works for
you largely depends on how you like your music, but for those music fanatics
who want something quite original in their heavy music. Ether delivers this,
and more.
"There is Nothing Left for Me Here" CS//CD//DD//LP track listing
1.
For Every Nail a Noose
2.
We are the Empty Vessel Where Life Used to Grow
3.
Inextricably Bound By The Absence of a Ring
4.
No Gods, All Masters
5.
The Burden of Trust
6.
Coke Rope
7.
Ava Maria of the Lice, of the Snakes, of the Worms
8.
The Burden of Hope
9.
Fleas of a Rat
The Review:
Can
being hard to categorize go wrong? There's something fun to being musically
irascible. Yet genres exist for a reason. Enter Ether, which makes a strong case
for both sides of that debate.
The
Florida band
issued an excellent new album, "There
is Nothing Left for Me Here," in July. Since then, that release has
bubbled just below the surface, winning kudos for its imaginative composition
and high quality arrangement. This heavy-based quintet – most of Ether's
members come from the hardcore band Remembering Never – takes many innovative
liberties, as well as incorporates its strongest influences. Ether
succeeds at being a heterogeneous strain in the sludge metal pool. How that
works for you largely depends on how you like your music.
To
be most direct, what makes "There is
Nothing Left for Me Here" such an experience is not just that it has
disparate takes within Ether's musicianship. There are several
instances where the album feels downright contradictory to what you heard the
song before, or even 30 seconds previous in the same track. "For Every Nail a Noose," Ether's opener, gets a prelude with a sample
of the voice of jazz/blues icon Billie Holiday, layered with noise rock and
fuzz. However, the song is a heady and harrowing hardcore journey for its first
minute, until it evolves just after that first minute into a progressive/doom
sort of rhythm,, with clean singing, before building back into a heavy groove
at about four minutes, then back – with a stringed lead-in – at about six
minutes through to the earlier prog blueprint. "We Are the Empty Vessel" has one changeup like this too.
Meanwhile, "Inextricably Bound by
the Absence of a Ring" gets a moody, slightly folky treatment, with
strings and an off-kilter tempo, before jumping into a post-rock and hardcore
inflected "No Gods, All
Masters." Next cut, "The
Burden of Trust," is a slow, pensive instrumental. Get it? There is a
great deal about "There is Nothing
Left for Me Here" that resists expectations of the sludge/doom
categories Ether
finds itself in.
Needless
to say, there is a portion of the heavy music fan base that will greatly
dislike Ether's
unconventional approach to its album, since songs might feel like they lack
consistency. Listening more deeply, though, the common threads, such as Daniel
Burger's skillful work on the drums and the range of instruments (band member
take credit for the gong, violin and toy piano as well as the usuals), are
certain to reel in those music fanatics who want something quite original in
their heavy music. Ether delivers this, and more.
You
catch embers of acts like Neurosis and Type O Negative in the last
third of the album. "Ava Maria of
the Lice, of the Snakes, of the Worms"
cedes its post-metal riffs after three minutes to a corrosive, slow burn of
intense vocals and swirling guitars. This is one of the more estimable cuts on
the release. "The Burden of
Hope" returns to the brooding instrumentation of earlier, then flows
into "Fleas of a Rat."
With a post-metal aesthetic, the track, and so much of
what Ether
does, feels ahead of its time.
"There is Nothing
Left for Me Here" is available here
From the eerie, ambient opening to the final crescendo, “Strike the Sun” is a rare “all killer, no filler” beast of a record. By crafting a truly timeless album, Shroud Eater have managed to distinguish themselves as one of the noteworthy purveyors of American metal.
“Strike
the Sun”
CD//CS//DD//LP track listing
1. Smokeless Fire
2. Iron Mountain
3. Awaken Assassin
4. Another Skin
5. Dream Flesh
6. It Walks Among
7. Unseen Hand
8. Futile Exile
The Review
With the deluge of heavy bands churning out
consistently crushing work, some stellar records manage to lurk at the edges of
my consciousness well past the initial release date. Shroud Eater’s second
full length, their first for STB Records, dropped
all the way back in July, but has garnered immediate, deserved praise. It’s a perfect summer selection: the
blistering heat and stifling humidity of the band’s home base – Miami, Florida
– practically pools around the speakers with every shredding riff and swinging
drum fill. But as the autumn days grow
colder in the northeast, “Strike the Sun”
reveals new, ominous facets. From the
eerie, ambient opening to the final crescendo, “Strike the Sun” is a rare “all killer, no filler” beast of a
record. By crafting a truly timeless
album, Shroud Eater have managed to distinguish themselves
as one of the noteworthy purveyors of American metal.
Intro track “Smokeless Fire” hints at Shroud Eater’s melodic
mysticism underlying Strike the Sun’s
crackling exterior: Valentine’s
ethereal vocals serve as a haunting prelude to the bashing Iron Mountain. Like a slightly less haggard Matt Pike, Jeannie Saiz’s vocals straddle distinct melody and hardcore
barks. Most improbably, Saiz’s lyrics are actually discernable
while being gritty – no mean feat among the standard death growlers and
shriekers glutting the metal market. “Awaken Assassin” may be my go to pick
for my “just listen to this one track and you’ll see what I’m talking about”
for Shroud Eater – both melodic and soaking in
sludge filth, it’s the sinister standout of the record.
Which isn’t to say “Strike the Sun” ever falters.
Instrumental cut “Another Skin”
showcases the band’s technical skill without being a pyrotechnic wank-fest,
while “Dream Flesh” evokes the
melodies and delicate vocal harmonies of “Smokeless
Fire”. “It Walks Among” lays waste to this brief reprieve, smashing the
band back into hellish crunch, highlighted by subtle guitar harmonies that are,
frankly, breathtaking. Davin Sosa’s drum work really shines in
“It Walks Among” and balances tribal
beats with complex fills in “Unseen Hand.” Album closer “Futile Exile” acts as a perfect bookend, encapsulating the
disparate, remarkable elements Shroud Eater wield so
well: intricate picking, smashing power chords complemented by crushing bass
tone, clean vocal harmonies and a menacing, croaked finale that feels
exhausting and empowering all at once.
“Strike the Sun” is
available here(LP) and here(CS)
Critically
acclaimed doom/sludge metal band HOLLOW LEG returned with their new two track
EP “Murder”, released via Argonauta
Records on March 3 2017. The
EP, which consists of the band's strongest material to date featured new
drummer John Stewart (Bloodlet/Caribou King) and would be reissued
alongside their ArgonautaRecords
debut album, to form the Crown “Murder
Edition” on June 30th . An
enormously toned groove engine hailing from the highways between Deland and Jacksonville, Florida.
HOLLOW LEG’S
affinity for the roots of American Blues music and English metal has created a
sound that has been compared to a mix of doom, sludge and traditional heavy
metal, with shades of Sabbath, Crowbar, Eyehatgod, Weedeater and
even Priest
to be found in their material.
Establishing
themselves as firm favourites here at THE SLUDGELORD, andfollowing their announcement to
play at this year’sPsycho Las Vegas in August, the band agreed
to not only take over our instagram page, but our man Greekbastard hooked up
with the band in Las Vegas to get the band’s impressions of the festival, how
their announcement came about and what the future holds for this most awesome
of bands. Check out the interview in
full below.
So how did you guys end up on the festival?
Brent: I believe I had some correspondents with
the promoter previously from some of the California
events that he had done. And then I kind of forgot about it. And just out of
the blue I got an email asking if we wanted to play. It was really that simple.
It was like one back and forth email pretty much. It was cool. We were really
surprised and excited to do the show.
Cool.
In addition to playing the festival, what are some of the bands you're looking
forward to seeing?
Brent: Definitely Melvins, Sleep, Royal Thunder. Seeing DarkCastle's
going to be amazing because we got our start with those guys. We played our
first shows with them and we're both on, so you know, old friends. And they
haven't played in a while so we're looking forward to seeing them. Neurosis.
Basically
every band. (laughs)
Brent: Scott toured with Neurosis back in the day, but I
haven't seen Neurosis
in 20 years so I'm excited. Sumac, yep. Who else? King Diamond, of course. Yeah, it's a really sick show. Unfortunately
we missed Conan
last night. I really wanted to see them. And we're going to miss Slomatics
and I wanted to see Corrosion of Conformity too.
So
what's Hollow Leg up to right now?
Brent: This. (laughs). We just finished one and a
half touring cycles. We did a record and an EP. We've done some touring for
both of those releases. Most recently in June we did the East Coast for the
Maryland Doom Fest. And then we're doing this, and we have some Florida shows we're
going to do this year.
Scott: Just for the friends coming down.
Brent: Yeah, we have some friends coming down and
there's going to be another festival in Jacksonville
we're doing. And that's the end. We're going to be working on a new record
after this show.
Scott: We're already a few songs into it.
Brent: Yeah.
Scott: At least a few.
Brent: Probably like eight in the works, so it's
happening.
Cool.
So you guys released your Murder EP
and then re-released Crown with the Murder EP on Argonauta Records?
Brent: Mm-hmm.
So
how has Argonauta treated you guys so far?
Brent: Great. He's never said no to us so that's
like the biggest thing, you know?
Scott: (laughs)
Brent: If we have someone that wants to put out
our shit and is just agreeable for pretty much ... If he's up for doing it,
then it's awesome. He's been really easy to work with.
Scott: Supportive.
Brent: Supportive. Gets us press and ear up, which
is great. It's been good. Like I said, it's more friendly than anything. It
doesn't feel so much like business all the time, so that's an important thing
for us. It's got to be ... Not casual, we do take this very seriously, but it's
got to be kind of casual in a sense just because we all have family life too
and we can't really put as much time and energy as a lot of other bands, so for
him to understand that and go with us and support us knowing we can only tour
so much is really cool. But he knows we want to do more too, so I think that's
a big thing.
So
when you guys aren't living the dream in Hollow Leg, what do you guys do to
earn keep?
Brent: You want to explain Scott?
Scott: I work for a scenery company. We make sets
for corporate shows or theaters or theme parks, stuff like that. Theme parks
are a big deal in Atlanta,
so that's where I work. It's easy to come and go from jack of all trades kind
of thing. Little bit of carpentry, little bit of upholstery, little bit of
painting and finishing. That's how I make my dollars.
(laughs)
Brent: And I'm a chef for a country club. Our bass
player Tom is a paralegal. And our drummer John works for the city of Orlando.
Brent: Yeah.
Alright.
I noticed you guys have done some short regional tours in the past, but are
there any plans in the works of ever touring states - a full blown tour - or Europe?
Brent: Yeah. We're waiting on the right
opportunity, I guess, on those things. It's a lot of time and dedication to do
those type of tours and we want to make sure it's a good one. Doing a DIY full
US or Europe at this point of our lives slash
careers is not really a thing we want to do. We can do ...
Scott: We can do regional stuff. Ten day stuff in
a row. If we could run all the way out to West Coast in ten days, great. If we
could find a way to fly out here and play with our friends using their gear for
ten days and ride in their van, great. That's the kind of stuff we can do right
now. It would have to be an opportunity, chasing the bus around. We've eaten
scraps and ... Being able to play in front of a bunch of people and sell some
of our merch and actually meet some new people, that would be the kind of
opportunity that would give us a ...
Brent: If there's a bigger band that wants to take
us to Europe or take us on a full US-
Scott: We will chase the bus around.
Brent: We will definitely jump at that
opportunity.
Scott: Yeah, yeah. For sure.
Brent: It just hasn't been presented to us yet, or
hasn't-
Scott: Materialized. It hasn't materialized.
Brent: The right one hasn't been presented to us.
So
do you think this sludge metal scene has kind of slowed up because of
unoriginality, or it being too redundant? Or do you think it's evolving into
something better right now?
Brent: I definitely see it evolving into something
better. I don't see it ... I mean, sludge ... When I think of sludge I think
of...
I
mean like the stoner metal that's going on.
Brent: Okay. All the stoner...
Yeah.
I'm kind of encompassing all that stuff.
Brent: Okay. Yeah. I think it's coming into
something else. If you're going to just stick to a pure sludge or a pure stoner
or a pure doom-
Scott: It's going to get stale.
Brent: It's going to deteriorate. It's going to
become like ... You know, you have the A bands and then you're going to have
the B bands and then you're going to have the C bands and the D bands and so
on. But if all those sounds kind of morph into something different, and then
you're also taking from other outside stuff, like an old school British metal,
or more hard rock sound, or even I heard more country stoner, country doom-y
bands, it's like ... That's what's going to make it into something a little
different. I think bands now are starting to cross-pollinate a little bit more.
I know certainly that's not what we try to do, but we definitely fit in that
because we have so many different things. But at the end of the day it's all
fucking Sabbath
worshipers. It really is. It's all based on those riffs. And that's what you
always go back to. It's like, what would Iommi do?
Scott: Yeah.
Brent: You know what I mean? It always goes back
to that. If it doesn't sound like something Sabbath would do, fucking scrap
it.
Scott: (laughs)
(laughs)
Brent: It's really not worth it.
With
Hollow Leg being based out of Florida, what do
you like about Florida?
What don't you like about Florida?
Brent: We're really divided about this. Good
question though. As a Florida native, you want to...
Scott: I like and hate that it's isolated from the
rest of the world. A lot of tours won't even come down. They'll get to Atlanta
and just shoot over to New Orleans, and I totally understand that, being from
there as well. But I like that it's isolated in that it has its own sense of
community and we can come up with some really cool shit that's not really
necessarily attached to anything else because it doesn't always come down that
far. It's really regional - in my mind, anyway. Stuff can come out of there, a
place that's isolated in that way. That's what I like and dislike about it. But
I think we have a really good ... Nowadays it feels to me - and I don't know if
it's just how I'm engaged in it right now, but it seems that I've seen in
Florida is driving. Wouldn't you say?
Brent: There's a lot of really good bands down
there. And I agree with the community thing. Having been in bands in Chicago
and Massachusetts, Florida's way cooler of a music community for heavy bands.
Scott: Everybody knows everybody.
Brent: Yep. And because it is isolated and we
don't get maybe as a many national tours as other places, we do a lot of shows
together.
Scott: Mm-hmm.
Brent: And it's like let's put five of the best
bands in the area on one bill together and get some heads out and just have
some fun. And there's a really cool vibe like that. A lot of DIY venues have
popped up over the years, people just wanting to put on shows. And now it's
grown into a fest situation, where every city and promoter have their own
festivals now. And all the bands are doing that, so that's become kind of a
cool thing. It's super incestuous. Everybody's been there with other bands.
Scott: (laughs) There's only so many people that
can fit down there.
Brent: Yeah. This guy's putting out everybody
else's records.
Scott: Yeah, yeah.
Brent: This guy does all the tee shirts. This guy
does all the art for the shows. Yeah,
it's a cool community. Oh, you have a studio...
Scott: It reminds me of New Orleans in that way
too. That place ... kind of likes living in that way too.
Brent: Mm-hmm.
So
what don't you like about Florida?
Brent: Oh.
Scott: (laughs)
Brent: Being a Northerner-
Scott: Oh, right there!
Brent: It's a little slow for my taste. It's a
slower pace, which probably effects why the music is the way it is. But just in
general, it's a slower pace, and I'm not the most patient person on the planet.
So the driving is fucking awful. The heat during the summer is just brutal. I
mean, June to September, you pretty much can't leave your house because it's so
humid and it rains all the damn time. And it's basically like Norway in the
winter - Florida in the summer. Same thing. High suicide rate. Can't leave your
fucking house. For me, I'm not used to it. I'm still not used to it. I've lived
in Florida for almost ten years. But I love the music community. I love the
people that I've met down there. Down to earth, real people. I dig that. You
don't get that in a lot of other places. People are very disingenuous in
general, especially in the music scene. "Oh, you guys are tiny. This band
looks tiny." You know, that type of bullshit.
Scott: "Really exciting. Can we borrow your
head?"
Brent: Yeah. That's not that type of vibe.
Everybody wears each other's shirts down there, and it's a real genuine love
for the other bands.
So
are you guys planning on gambling while you're here, and if so, what do you
guys play?
Scott: If
I did, I'd play Roulette or something where I could just sit for hours and
drink.
Brent: But no we probably won't gamble. We brought
money for weed.
Scott: Yeah, legal weed. That's right. I smoke
fucking weed and that's all, dude. No gambling.
Brent: Yeah.
Scott: Just shows, man. Just shows.
Alright.
Here's the big question right here.
Scott: Oh man.
Which
member of Hollow Leg do you predict is going to go all out Fear and Loathing in
Las Vegas, and why do you say that?
Brent: I don't know...
Scott: Don't look at me. It's Tommy.
Brent: (laughing) It's probably Tommy.
Scott: Tequila Toe Tom.
Brent: Yeah, I mean.
Scott: I don't know. What time is it right now?
We're all here to party. We're here to party.
Which
member's the wild card that, like, we're really keeping track on.
Scott: Tommy.
Brent: Probably our bass player Tom.
Scott: When he turns it on, dude, he turns it on.
Brent: This is like Disneyland for him.
Scott: (laughs)
Brent: Anywhere that's like legal weed...
Scott: Gambling too.
Brent: You see a smile ear to ear. He's the guy.
Scott: He woke up this morning, the first thing he
said was weed.
(laughs)
Weed.
Scott: Yeah, yeah. And then the second thing he
said was tequila, so.
(laughs)
Brent: But it's on. We came Thursday night to play
on Saturday afternoon, so it's on. We're here to party and enjoy some bands and
fucking hang out with people that we haven't see in a while - or see all the
time, but we're here to party with them. It's just a fun fucking environment.
What a great idea.
Scott: Yeah, right.
Brent: It's a real cool thing. Just from the shit
I've seen online too, it seems like there's a lot of repeat people from last
year who have come back to do the same thing, see their friends. It's almost
like a camp in a way.
Scott: Yeah, it is.
Brent: It's like a weekend metal camp for people
that like...
Scott: Tip this place over.
Brent: And now you're seeing it at other festivals
too. There's a lot of people here this weekend that we met at Maryland Doom
Fest either last year of the year before, that are like doing the festival
circuit, regardless of whether they work for some kind of media faction or not,
if they're here working a publication, or they're just fans. And a lot of the
bands are the same too. Our day at Maryland Doom Fest this year, we had Heavy Temple
and The
Skull on our day. They're playing the same day, same stage with us
here.
Scott: Yeah.
Brent: So it's cool. It's really cool. Stoked to
be a part of it. We're all going to party our faces off for sure.
Following their highly lauded full-length album Year One, Holly Hunt returns with a 3-song, 12’’ EP, Prometheus. Recorded by Jonathan Nuñez of Torche and mastered by New Alliance East, the record builds on the two-piece’s reputation for metal that’s crafted with the heaviest alloys, and a most magisterial patterning - the type that drones vehemently and drowns in the blues.
Drummer Beatriz Monteavaro(Floor, Cavity) and guitarist Gavin Perry have demonstrated themselves as a loud and lumbering giant of the Miami music scene. The visceral impact of sound - the raising heart rate, neck chills, the warmth spreading throughout your torso - this is Holly Hunt’s raison d'être. Prometheus manages to transmit an almost perfect rendering, delivering listeners to a heightened physical (and mental and spiritual) state. The record conjures the image of an approaching behemoth, striking paranoia and fear until the final, exhilarating sweep of humanity’s total destruction.
Where Year One established the bedrock of Holly Hunt’s punishing sound, Prometheus thunders with the clarity of a crack of lighting. It establishes a supremely balanced, critical distance between amp worship and riff devotion, rising and falling with ecstatic highs and sublime lows. And while Year One represented the genesis of the band's existence; Prometheus stands as a churning, threatening hint of things to come.
Prometheus is a joint release by Other Electricities and Sonic TITAN.
The Band:
Beatriz Monteavaro | Drums
Gavin Perry | Guitars
Review:
There is something inherently beautiful about that feeling you get when you first remove a vinyl from its sleeve and place the needle on it. When listening to any album this feeling exists but when it comes to the fuzzy & sludgy stuff nothing quite hits the needle like it. The blend of crackles with the grime is perfection, and in some way the sounds from a vinyl take on a more 3D life force with each instrument almost floating in its own space.
There is little situation more fitting than putting the needle down on Holly Hunt’sPrometheus. “Utter Sludge Perfection”, is an apt description and if you aren’t familiar, let’s have a short catch up session.Holly Huntis a 2 piece instrumental act from Florida that features Beatriz Monteavaro (FLOOR\CAVITY) on Drums & Gavin Perry on guitar. ‘Prometheus’ is the follow up to 2012’s Year ONE which was rapturously received and also worth getting your hands on at the same time as ‘Prometheus’, at amere 3 songs, every minute counts on this EP.
They open with ‘Meano’, a massive wall of fuzz and girth acts as the prelude to the pummelling that ensues.Indeed, this is the musical equivalent of an elephant charging at you in slow motion. Equally ominous is the pulsing ‘Saturn Devours His Children’ reminiscent of Jesu/Godfleshwhere chords create cliffhangers amongst the pulsing waves of percussion. Then we have the title track ‘Prometheus’, 9m 40s of downright sludge gold. There is a hypnotic feel about this release, I found myself nodding and wobbling back and forth throughout both sides of the vinyl EP.
In summation, ‘Prometheus’ is an absolute must have for any fan of sludge/doom.It does what few instrumental acts can do. It keeps your attention and draws you in like a tractor beam.It is a thudding and pulsating giant of a record!
Below you will find the links to both the digital and vinyl versions of the record. I suggest you buy the vinyl, add some drinks, a great set of speakers and a blind fold (or just close your eyes).Sit back and soak this in properly
