EXCLUSIVE ALBUM STREAM & REVIEW: Weed Demon - "Astrological Passages"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full-length

Date Released: 18/08/2017

Label: Dissonant Society

Weed Demon is quite willing to show they can do a diverse attack that goes beyond a Melvins-ish crunch. It can definitely throttle you with heavy, sludged out guitars and drums. Yet, as you find on "Primordial Genocide" and elsewhere, Weed Demon can go from blasting to burrowing with its arrangements, zipping from fast to slow, metal to a variation on math rock, smoothly.

"Astrological Passages “CS//CD//DD "track listing

1. Astrological Passages

2. Primordial Genocide

3. Sigil of The Black Moon

4. Dominion of Oblivion

5. Jettisoned

The Review:

A band who call themselves Weed Demon and does five songs that clock out at 50 minutes pretty much says all you need to know about it being a stoner metal clique, doesn't it? Not completely. The Columbus, Ohio troupe has, in truth, a lot more in store for you.

Stoner metal has and has previously had many great acts as part of its history. Though the mainstream probably could not tell the difference between stoner and several other variations of doom, discriminating listeners know it when they hear it. Weed Demon flies the flag in its name and other venues. It certainly has other influences at its base.

On their debut full-length, a follow up to their 2015 EP, Weed Demon is quite willing to show they can do a diverse attack that goes beyond a Melvins-ish crunch. It can definitely throttle you with heavy, sludged out guitars and drums. Yet, as you find on "Primordial Genocide" and elsewhere, Weed Demon can go from blasting to burrowing with its arrangements, zipping from fast to slow, metal to a variation on math rock, smoothly. "Sigil of the Black Moon" kicks off as if it is your standard issue doom cut, but evolves into capacious blues rock, then plunges you into deep sludge. Where their first recording felt straightforward and perhaps not as adventurous, Weed Demon seems more confident in their own skin, with members gutsy in their willingness to take songs out to the farther reaches of your expectations.

The vocal style is just as varied, wherein a song like "Dominion of Oblivion" conveys almost a kind of funeral doom in its chanting verbalization. Rarely do you find stoner and funeral cross paths, so this bridge of the song is fresh. The music grows more insistent as it goes on, as does the vocal. That song is followed by "Jettisoned," a sprawling 12-minute-plus track to wrap up the recording. With its harmonica accents, rockabilly sort of segueway and long instrumental stretches, the cut seems aimed at, as the group says, to smoke and just jam. However, the overall effort here is far superior to background music. And Weed Demon, regardless of its name, is hardly your average stoner metal group.

"Astrological Passages" is available to preorder/buy on CS here and CD//digital here.  The album is official out on the 18/8/2017, but you can stream it exclusively in full below.

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

“And the earth will be destroyed with undulations of fuzz part II:” An Interview with Dreich & Album Stream

 

Dreich hail from different corners of the globe and were united in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2015.  Dreich is an expression of the suffering of the human condition on this mortal coil. The oath was sworn and the allegiance is kept by four wretched souls brought together by forces unknown to summon, the bleak, the heavy, the horrid, the animalistic, the energy and beauty within darkness.  In sonic ritual Dreich conjure hypnotic rhythms and entrance their fiendish victims and recent committed their first aural rituals to wax in the form of a split release with Irish fuzz merchants Mares of Diomedes .

On September 16th 2016, Heavy Earth Records was the vessel for which this release was bestowed upon the unsuspecting world, a release of bone rattling doom that is on par with the best in the genre.   Following on from the recent premiere of the Mares of Diomende tune “Earth Destroyer”, today we present the second part of our doubled headed interview, with the formal introduction of Dreich and a full stream of this gargantuan release.  So let the ritual begin.  Purchase the album on cassette, vinyl or digital formats here

SL: Can you give us an insight into how you started playing music, leading up to the formation of Dreich?

 

Dreich was the marriage of two different concepts/projects. The former project had been a slightly different line up and the latter was to be a project between our vocalist and guitarist, by forging the two together Dreich was sprung as we found our mutual gravitation towards the darker sonic realms.

SL: For folks unfamiliar with your band, are there any bands on the scene past and present that you would use as a reference point band to describe your band, and is there any bands that continue to inspire you and push you to try new things?

Dreich: As a band we’re shaped by our life experiences in a forsaken world, our different cultural backgrounds and our former projects. We have roots in many different scenes from death metal to D.I.Y. punk and listen to a vast variety of music definitely not limited to sludge and doom.

We don’t really like to frame our sound around that of other musicians. We’re a melting pot of influences, genres and are directing ourselves around what we feel, not what we know of other bands. Surely there are influences or other musician’s people may feel we share themes/sounds with, however Dreich never explicitly set out with such intentions, musically

 

SL: What can you tell us about your upcoming record and where do you feel it sits within the context current music scene.

Dreich: If we must frame our music we would describe Dreich as a band mostly rooted in Doom Metal with nods to death metal and black metal. We describe ourselves and our concept as Bleak Metal. We are always experimenting, progressing and evolving as a band and we are currently amidst writing our first full length release, but with these tracks from the split we have found our musical approach as a band.

SL: How was the mood in the camp going into the recording of the record?

Dreich: Although it was the dark days of Scandinavian winter, as a band we went into the studio feeling hungry to sink our teeth into our first recording. We play dark and heavy music; however, we still find much enjoyment within that, as a family who share that. We collaborated with Ballade Studios and we’re really happy with what was achieved there.

SL: What can fans look forward to from you over the next 12 months? How is your schedule shaping up?

Dreich: The next 12 months is  shaping up to be even more intense than those preceding it and we welcome that. We have the split with Mares Of Diomedes being released, some shows we're humbled to be playing, continuing with the writing process and then recording our first full length. We’ve had requests to play in both Europe and beyond so we look forward to embarking on an exciting year.

Cheers // Skål // Sláinte!!!

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM STREAM: Chicago's acid soaked sludgers Faces of the Bog complete their "Ego Death"

By:  Aaron Pickford



(C) GoldilocksCG

Personally speaking, one of the strongest and prominent scenes in metal over the years is Chicago, with many of America’s most prominent bands, hailing from the windy city. Ministry and the Wax Trax scene, Big Black, Shellac, The Jesus Lizard, Trouble, Touch and Go Records are many of the names that have imprinted upon music fans and the history of the Chicago music scene over the last 30 years.

Today the vibrancy of the Chicago scene continues with emergence of bands past and present such as, Buried At Sea, Indian, Lord Mantis, Bongripper, The Skull, Yakuza, The Atlas Moth, Scientist the list is endless. Indeed if an album is from the doom scene, if it is heavy and it was recorded in Chicago, then one man, Sanford Parker was likely to have recorded it, which leads us directly onto today’s featured band Faces of the Bog.

A psychedelic tinged, doom influenced, sludge/prog four piece Faces of the Bog, hail from Humboldt Park, home of Emperor Cabinets and continue the tradition of excellent bands rising from Chicago underground and their acid soaked blend of sludge was recently put to tape by Sanford at Electric Audio in the form of their debut album “Ego Death”, which is a fantastic blast to the senses.  “Ego Death” is set for release on 4^th October, but today in order to whet your insatiable appetite for crushing music, we are streaming the album in full below.  You can Pre-order “Ego Death” here

Band info: facebook

INTERVIEW & ALBUM STREAM: "Waker" from Copenhagen, Denmark's sludge metal bastards BARRICADE

The Copenhagen, Denmark-based sludge metal bastards Barricade is back with their second full length album ”Waker”, which is a fierce stew of social indignation and a musical pedal to the metal. First and foremost, ”Waker” is the proof of a band with something to say and a sense of renewing its own expression while setting the bar high for the alternative metal scene.

”Waker” will be released September 30th via the band’s own label Black Grain Records on LP/CD/Digital and today you can check out the album in full with our exclusive stream, as well as short interview.  

SL: Can you give us an insight into how you started playing music, leading up to the formation of Barricade

We all started playing music when we were young teens in the early mid 90`s and discovered bands like Nirvana, Metallica and Pantera.  Some of us Tejs, Lars and Jonathan grew up together and have been playing together for a long time in various bands and genres. Barricade was born in 2010 and Patrick joined in as a second guitar later that year.

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

Well we have very different influences and bands we like. Our musical background is very different stretching from Grunge through hardcore all the way to death metal – but let’s say that we have listened to a fair share of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Mastodon, High on Fire, Raised Fist and Red Fang.

SL:  What can you tell us about your upcoming record and where do you feel it sits within the context of current doom scene

We don’t see ourselves as a doom band. We prefer sludge metal. We have some short slow parts in some of our songs, that have a little doom inspiration. Don’t know were the Doom definition comes from? :)

Our new record is a kind of “new” start, in that form that we use to have 2 drummers, but we parted ways with our second drummer about a year ago and decided to continue with one - which resulted in a new sound that is more heavy and slow but still with our aggressive hardcore inspired attitude.

SL: Does anything spring to mind when you think about the completion of your upcoming record and how is the mood in the camp at present?

We are happy and proud that we made this record. It has been tough and hard work not least because we did almost everything ourselves. We did the recording in a realy nice big pro studio and Patrick (guitar) did the mix and mastering. Lars (guitar, vocals) did all the artwork and graphics. The video was done by our drummer Tejs. So it’s been a long but exciting process. Now it’s done and out in a few weeks, so the mood is good and positive and we hope people will like our new record.

SL: What stands out as your overarching memory from the recording sessions?

This time we had a more “real” feeling to it than we’ve had before. This time we did two weeks of non-stop recording sessions on vintage gear with Emil Sauer, a very skilled pro recording engineer and producer. Emil gave us a lot of inputs and did a great job on working with the basic sound. We had the real feeling of being in the studio. So a very different process than our previous releases where each of us would have short sessions of recording you know layer on layer etc.

SL: With a solid gold album in the bag, how is your schedule shaping up over the next 12 months?

Thanks J We don’t have a lot of plans for now. It’s hard to get gigs and tour in Denmark at our level and music genre. Hopefully we can get some cool support jobs for bigger acts when they come to Copenhagen. We are planning to do a small EU tour early 2017 and festivals next summer.

SL: Finally, do you have any final comments/word of wisdom you’d like to bestow upon us?

Thanks for doing this interview. Stay true to yourself and work hard for what you believe in. Love your fellow man and animal despite all the differences you may have. Teach your kids that everyone is right. Music for all – hate for none. Cheers

”Waker” will be released September 30th via the band’s own label Black Grain Records here , and the album will be accompanied by a string of live shows in DK and beyond.

  

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW + FULL ALBUM STREAM: Ayahuasca - "YIN"

By: Phil Weller

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 09/09/2016

Label: Independent

Throughout, nothing ever quite sits right, like a jigsaw with a few missing pieces: The spasmodic guitar work of ‘Dark Matter God’ is a fitting example of this. Yet they find, upon that uncomfortable platform, a way to drill into your psyche excellently. It may be weird, but it has an uncanny way of selling itself to you.

YIN” DD track listing:

1). The Dodged Now

2). Born Into A Sadness Machine

3). YIN

4). Dark Matter God

5). Dinosaurs

6). Mange

7). Carbon

8). Left Skull Prison

9). Collapse Of A Lifelong Lie

10). You, The Siren And The Endless Void

11). Mountain Of Snakes

12). White Ship

The Review:

Paradoxically, Ayahuasca, through the channelling of dark and beguiled grunge dirges and the booming sonic intensity of doom, conjure a sound that is as depressing as it is uplifting. Major tones, specifically through a vocal intonation reminiscent of the late Layne Stayley, are haunted with dread and despair, minor tones meanwhile peppered with hope. On ‘YIN’ they have birthed the bastard child of two emotions to one that isn’t explicitly either, but its circus freak upbringing – its replication of some many familiar sounds pieced together in an unfamiliar way – is what makes it such an engrossing listen.   

Named after an entheogenic brew used in a religious, shamanic, or even spiritual context, such a choice of moniker is telling of the Canadian band’s mindset. So it is no surprise that acid trip atmospherics – whirling sound effects and disjointed, prickling textures – float through the record like a chilling breeze, the slow, deadly thump of ‘The Dodged Now’ introducing the band to great avail. Berserk Lout's huge, Layne Stayley like falsetto instantly makes its mark upon a song that, musically, does little else. But where they are minimalist there, the fast paced attack of ‘Born Into A Sadness Machine’, which evokes on-form Screaming Trees in parts, and the ghastly title-track, which fluctuates between a jarring riff and crippled grooves, go on to reveal a band that keeps you guessing.

Here, along with the monstrous stomp of ‘Dinosaurs’ they are at their most straight forward. Still feisty and gritty, but in their Sunday Best. The best/worst (their true self) is yet to come.  

And that’s the thing. At a glance, it would be so easy to cast this as a dirty, denim clad throwback to an era where grunge, and the working class underdogs that created it, was king. The chorus of ‘Dinosaurs’, for instance, would sound right at home on ‘Dirt’. But, while indeed it masterfully reminds the listener of so many of the world beating aesthetics that those bands crafted as their own all them years ago – hints Pearl Jam and Soundgarden sneaking through the cracks of the bombastic ‘Mange’ – there is something unique nestling within their dingy product.

"There's no time, in her eyes, look inside," yelps Lout in a Mike Patton fashioned way on 'You, The Siren And The Endless Void'. He does so atop the usual throbbing drone of guitars and drums, but with the inclusion of a mandolin – sounding so out-of-place yet brilliantly eccentric for it – here is yet another twist in this record's tale. And one, it must be said, that keeps your attention firmly focussed on what’s around the next crooked corner. 

Throughout, nothing ever quite sits right, like a jigsaw with a few missing pieces: The spasmodic guitar work of ‘Dark Matter God’ is a fitting example of this. Yet they find, upon that uncomfortable platform, a way to drill into your psyche excellently. It may be weird, but it has an uncanny way of selling itself to you.

‘Left Skull Prison’, perhaps where the Layne Stayley comparisons become most obviously beside grinding guitars and an almost spiritual countenance, and the “Blood Mountain” era Mastadon dynamic attack of ‘Mountain of Snakes’, could so easily be two bands. They’d be stark contrasts of each other were it not for that chilling breeze, and that paradoxical depressing/uplifting effect it has upon you. By doing so, they have sewn together a diverse and engaging album that is so much more than ‘grunge revived’

‘YIN’ is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Divine Mother Recordings Reissue Classic Album "Starvation of Locusts" by Leechmilk on Vinyl

 

   Originally released in 2000, “Starvation of Locusts” was Atlanta, GA sludge grinders, LEECHMILK’s first full length following previous self-released demos. The band disbanded in 2001 after a split with Sofa King Killer on Teepee Records. 16 years later, “Starvation of Locusts” finally sees a vinyl release remixed and remastered by Matt Washburn of Ledbelly Sound Studios (Mastodon, Norma Jean), where it was originally recorded. Artwork by Jean Saiz of Shroud Eater.

 

   "Why a vinyl release after all these years? Well, because it is one of my favorite albums of all time and I wanted a copy on vinyl, plain and simple. I hit Dan up about it and he didn’t seem all that interested at first. I’d see people here and there commenting about Leechmilk online and I’d always reply to them hounding him about the vinyl. After a little while I either wore him down and he agreed just to shut me up or the interest other people had in it convinced him into doing it. The timing was right with label releases so we went for it. It took about a year and some change to get it all done. We had to remix a few times (with a different engineer), and then we went back to Matt and just got him to redo the whole thing until we were all satisfied. The end result, to me is an accurate representation of the original album, just updated for 2016. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do". – Clifton DMR

You can stream the remastered version of the album in full below and you can pick up a copy here

 

LEECHMILK – “Starvation of Locusts”

 

1). Sinkhole

2). Doubleplusungood

3). Dirt Clot

4). Imbalance

5). Whiskey Nipple

6). The Garrote

7). Descending

 

Edition of 225 copies:
- 47 red and black
- 78 white
- 100 black

Recorded April 9th & 14th 2000 Ledbelly Studios - Atlanta GA.
Remixed and remastered in November 2015.

The Sludgelord Album Premiere - "Harmonic Ruptures" by Harvester (Full Stream)

 

Harvester are a stoner metal band from Galway in the west of Ireland. Formed in 2012 through a mutual love of Black Sabbath and Guinness, (what better combination is there) Harvester  draw influence from the greats, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Sleep, Rory Gallagher, and newer bands Graveyard, Torche, High On Fire  

 

Friday July 1^st will see the band issue “Harmonic Ruptures”, which will be their second full length, following their debut “The Blind Summit Recordings” which was released on vinyl in 2013 via Freak Flag Recordings, to much acclaim. The 8 tracks that make up their new album were recently mastered for vinyl and digital release by none other than James Plotkin (Sumac, Conan, Botch) featuring the incredible artwork by Emmett Connell.

 

With the release date edging ever closer, today at The Sludgelord we are delighted to present “Harmonic Ruptures” in full with today’s exclusive stream and we’re certain you won’t be disappointed. 

 

“Harmonic Ruptures” will be released digitally on Friday 1st July and be available via their bandcamp and all the usual outlets iTunes, Amazon etc.  In addition they have some upcoming gigs in Ireland, UK on the horizon and were also recently asked by none other than Bill Kelliher to support Mastodon in August.  All the information you need can be viewed below. 

 

 

 

 

“Harmonic Ruptures” track listing:

 

1). Summoner

2). The Obol

3). Magnetic North

4). Lapse

5). Dimensionaut

6). Wrought

7). Outlier

8). Past the Mantle

 

Live Rituals

Thurs 7 July, Galway - Roisin Dubh
Fri 8 July,  Cork - Fred Zeppelins
Sat 9 July,  Kilkenny – Cleeres

 

Also we will be returning to bonnie Scotland at the end of July. More UK gigs to be added

Thurs 28 July, Edinburgh - Banshee Labyrinth
Fri 29 July, Glasgow - Nice n' Sleazy

Sun 14 Aug, Belfast - Limelight w/ Mastodon

Mon 15 Aug, Dublin - Academy w/ Mastodon

 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

The Sludgelord Album Stream - "Ambedo" by Battle Path reissued via Wood And Stone Productions June 24th 2016

By: Aaron Pickford

 

With a seemingly endless playlist of music, is it any wonder that music is often overlooked? For me spotify is not my bag, I don’t stream much music, because I like to have a copy of a record on my turntable or on my phone, above all else, I want to own that shit, however conversely it would be near on impossible to own or listen to every record that drops in our inbox at Sludgelord HQ.   So when Dewar PR offered us a second chance to check out blackened doom metal band Battle Path, we weren’t going to make the same mistake twice.

Coming outta the gates like a synth infused Altar of Plagues, Battle Path have turned in their magnum opus, and whilst “Ambedo” was originally released way back in November 2015 via Inherent Records.  Friday the 24^th of June will see the rebirth of this snarling behemoth, rising from its slumber to be committed to cassette tape via Wood and Stone Productions.

“Ambedo” is truly epic in scope, inducing a kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in every vivid sensory detail, due to the maelstrom of power the record implodes upon your lug holes. So, with a June 24th release date etched into the commandants of doom, we are happy to offer the album in full for your listening pleasure and the band had this to say about the album. 

"Ambedo was created in a very transitional period for the band. Founding member Chase moved away, and shortly after the recording of this record, we lost another founding member, Casey.

These were all amicable splits, but there was definitely a period of adjustment. Chase was an integral writing partner, so it took a minute to find our bearings. After Chase left, we decided not to add another guitarist to fill his shoes, but instead the opportunity arose for a keyboardist. We soon realized the amount of texture that could be added to our sound and we utilized this very quickly. Musically, this record is quite different from our previous two releases, but we do feel it is overall the same vibe that we've always had. We utilized a different sonic palate for this record, but the songs required a different sound. So, we embraced that challenge and just went for it. "

So forget what Nails’ have to say, we want you to be one of us. Listen and learn my friends, because this record is fantastic and will have you tape trading with your friends like its 1985.

 

 

 

“Ambedo” CS//DD//LP track listing:

 

1). Raging Host

2). A Thirst For Blood

3). Ambedo

4). Ascension

5). Deep Wounds

6). Finis Omnium

 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Curse The Son - "Isolator" (Album Review) & Exclusive Album Stream

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 18/03/2016

Label: Snake Charmer Coalition

Massive fuzzy riffs, wailing vox and swinging rhythms abound from the off.  The production is spot on; nice and live sounding with care and attention applied (double tracked vocals) to make the record sound thorough and mapped out. The title track shows all of the aforementioned in abundance. Ron Vanacore delivers his vocals with full conviction, all the while laying down tar thick riffs. “Gaslighter” is more Sabbathian with its swinging riff and plodding pace. Overall this is a very strong record which mixes doom and stoner in equal amounts to equally great effect.

“Isolator” CD//DD track listing:

1 Isolator
2 Callous Unemotional Traits
3 Sleepwalker Wakes
4 Hull Crush Depth
5 Gaslighter
6 Aislamiento
7 Side Effects May Include....

The Review:

Connecticut's finest return with their third full length. This is stoner doom in the vein of Sleep, Electric Wizard and Sabbath. Massive fuzzy riffs, wailing vox and swinging rhythms abound from the off. There is actual bass playing too! The production is spot on; nice and live sounding with care and attention applied (double tracked vocals) to make the record sound thorough and mapped out. The title track shows all of the aforementioned in abundance.

After that barnstorming opener, you are hoping that the record will continue in the same vein... and it does. Even though that “Callous Unemotional Traits” is slower and more doomy, there is still a lightness of touch to the delivery (you can hear the left foot of Mike Petrucci on the hi hat keeping time! You don't get much of that these days- Ginger Baker would be proud) which makes the track feel quite airy and expansive. Ron Vanacore delivers his vocals with full conviction, all the while laying down tar thick riffs.

“Sleepwalker Awakes” is very low and quite slow- heavy stuff with an insistent and pulsing beat for the opening riff. There is a nice change of pace with mellow vocals and a more stoner and less doom verse section. It is a cracking track, with a strong vocal melody. “Hull Crush Depth” is a fairly mellow affair with thickness in parts, but relatively reserved in terms of attack.

“Gaslighter” is more Sabbathian with its swinging riff and plodding pace. “Aislamiento” features inventive hi hat and bass work as the band get into an almost jazzy feel for parts of the track- with weighty sections elsewhere to balance things out.

The album finishes with “Side Effects May Include...” which brings back the swinging feel of the title track over a longer playing time with a strong hook. The excellent bass sound is a bonus to the record generally, while the style of the music should satisfy fans of bands as varied as Pentagram and Fu Manchu. This is a very strong record which mixes doom and stoner in equal amounts to equally great effect.

“Isolater” is available to here and check out this exclusive full album stream below

Band info: facebook

The Sludgelord Album Premiere: “1557 – Rites of Nullification" by MEPHORASH

By: Aaron Pickford

MEPHORASH is a black metal band hailing from Sweden featuring members of Malign, ex Ofermod. Their new album “1557 – Rites of Nullification" has been just released by Odium Records it’s divided into 4 hymns which serves as a luminescent focal point for the fourfold rite of nullification of the four primal elements.

Today at The Sludgelord we premiere the record in full below. Each track of the album features additional vocals from the vocalists of Malign, Hetroertzen, Embrace of Thorns and Fides Inversa.

“1557 – Rites of Nullification" track list

1. Riphyon- The Tree of Assiyah Putrescent
2. Phezur- Dissolving The Sea of Yetzirah
3. Cheidolun- Breaking The Blade of Beriah
4. Berberioth- Vandalising The Throne of Atziluth

The album has been released as deluxe six panel digipack with gold foil stamped seals woven into the artwork and is available here.  A digital version is available here

The album will also be available in a die-hard edition, limited to 50 hand numbered copies on cd and vinyl that will be released together with a book written by occultist G. De Laval. The book will process and dig deep in to the concept of the negated elements with around 50 pages of pure occult magic.  The Die hard Digi pack version will be available in November and vinyl later this year.

Band info: official | facebook