ALBUM REVIEW: MWWB, "The Harvest"

By: Pim Latuny
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 25/03/2022
Label: New Heavy Sounds

 
“The Harvest” CD//DD//CS//LP track listing:
 
1). Oblok Magellana
2). The Harvest
3). Interstellar Wrecking
4). Logic Bomb
5). Betrayal
6). Altamira
7). Let’s Send These Bastards Whence They Came
8). Strontium
9). Moon Rise
 
 
The band formerly known as Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard are going through changes. They shortened their band name and they aren’t using their usual enigmatic Welsh language to name the album. It’s just “The Harvest” now. After the trilogy in Welsh, they’re now making a trilogy with English album names? What’s going on in the MWWB camp? Is everything ok? Well, it is now.
 
The album release was delayed by a year because guitarist Paul contracted Covid and suffered a stroke. Fortunately, he has recovered and what this record represents, is a testament not only to Paul’s undoubted talent, but the bands’ ability to write colossal grooving riffs and create interstellar anthems.
 
Two things that have always stood out on an MWWB record, is their use of sound effects/synths and the vocals of Jessica Ball, and “The Harvest” is no different.  Without the sound effects, the imagination of ‘we are somewhere in space’ would be a lot harder. With them, they take me back to the soundtracks of old John Carpenter sci-fi movies (‘Interstellar Wrecking’) and playing Mega Man II (‘Let’s Send These Bastards Whence They Came’). Those influences make this album more vivid and cinematic. Especially when the vocals come in. Jessica’s vocals have that shoegaze smokiness, which is always a delicacy to hear. Layer by layer she builds these harmonious waves that submerse you completely in the cosmos of the Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. Listen to the title track, “Logic Bomb” and “Strontium” if you want to be submerged.
 
What makes this record so great, is the blend of retro synth music, shoegaze and stoner doom. It just works. “The Harvest” is a grand stonerdoomgaze sci-fi opera. It’s a journey through the past, the future and everything in between and outside of it. It makes me remember the magic of listening to concept albums again.
 
“The Harvest” is available HERE
  

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: EMBR, "1823"

By: Peter Morsellino 

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/07/2020

Label: New Heavy Sounds

“1823” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Prurient
2). Where I've Been
3). Stranger 

4). Powder

5). Eyes Like Knives
6). Your Burden
7). Vines

The Review:

EMBR take an interesting approach on their debut release, crafting a very digestible sound from a batch of the same spoiled ingredients doled out to a sludge band at conception. All of the abrasive elements we adore are present here, from the down tuned chugging riffs to the gritty film muddying the overall aesthetic, and yet from this mess comes something much more polished and refined than can be expected. Hands down, this is one of the most accessible things I have heard on this end of the doom spectrum this year.

As chock full of pop hits as it is with grinding metallic mayhem, “1823” straddles a high wire that Oh so many have fallen from in the past.  Is it hard enough?  Is it too hard?  Yes to both, really.  It is an album that knows exactly what it wants to do and does so expertly. Soaring operatic vocals lines mix with demonic screeches on the background, while sludgey riffs better the listener with hummable hooks.  Truly an album existing in two places at once, EMBR's debut is one that shows the promise of a band that can just about do it all.

The atmospheric tones of the clean vocals blend well with the grit of the music creating something very reminiscent of the post grunge alternative rock sound of the 90's. While I would be hard pressed to directly compare EMBR with the Breeders, there is a taste of the pop sound meets sullen aggression that is present in their work and that of which they inspired. A sound that lends itself perfectly to bobbed and banged heads alike.

I can see this as an album that is easily brushed aside by elite tier members of the metal fandom for superficial reasons across the board. But at a time when listeners are so flooded with work across the musical spectrum, it is undeniably positive for a metal release to be as head turningly catchy as this one. We simply cannot exist as a genre with the staunch gatekeeping of all things deemed not metal enough due to production value and accessibility anymore. I say it's time for metal to get noticed again, and I think this release may be a prime candidate.

“1823” is available HERE

Band info: Facebook || Bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, “Yn Ol I Annwn”

By: Andrew Field

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 01/03/2019
Label: New Heavy Sounds

“Yn Ol I Annwn” is a brave, exhilarating and sumptuous record.

“Yn Ol I Annwn” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1. Tralfamadore

2. The Spaceships Of Ezekiel
3. Fata Morgana
4. Du Bist Jetzt Nicht In Der Zukunft
5. Yn Ol I Annwn
6. Katyusha
7. The Majestic Clockwork
8. Five Days In The Abyss

The Review: 

You have to admire Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s work rate. Three albums and a split in as many years, with no drop in quality. Quite the opposite in fact. The Wrexham quintet have upped their game once again with this new record. And trust me when I tell you “Yn Ol I Annwn” is a real doozy.

If “Noeth Ac Anoeth” laid the foundations of the MWWB sound, 2017’s “Y Proffwyd Dwyll” realised their potential. It was the sound of a band hitting its stride and finding a creative pulse. The double whammy of “Valmasque” and the title track were a crowning achievement. They sounded like the bastard offspring of a four way one-night stand between Kyuss, My Bloody Valentine, Hawkwind (when Lemmy was in it) and Lush. It became my album of that year with some ease.

After the intriguing 2018 “Totems” split with Slomatics, on which the development of the MWWB sound continued apace, we finally arrive at the third part of the band’s trilogy. Unlike the first two parts, which revealed their charms immediately, “Yn Ol I Annwn” takes a few listens to fully put you under its spell. But once you’re familiar with the hooks and riffs their allure is strong. Be warned.

“Yn Ol I Annwn” is akin to your favourite car after it’s been in for a service. Everything is tighter, a little more fluid, and altogether perkier than before. The underlying dynamism is still there, but it’s brighter and more sparkly now. This extends across the gamut of MWWB’s appealing traits. Jessica Ball’s growing confidence in her voice is apparent from the off: whilst her delivery is still ethereal and floats above the rampant musical melee underneath, she’s higher in the mix now – alternating between moments of fragility and more forceful intonation. Dave and Wes’s guitars still churn and thunder, but there’s a more focused tightness in their work. The album’s true hero is drummer James “Carrat” Carrington, to these ears an underrated master of the skins. The insistent forward motion he creates for his band, rolling and undulating around his kit, is the lifeblood of MWWB and truly hypnotic.

Since Jess Ball left her bass behind and focused on keyboards they’ve played an ever-larger part in the band’s sound.  On this 3^rd full-length record those keys find more room within the quintet’s widescreen musical offering: from swishing whizzes to Floydian stabs, pulsing and wooshing, firmly in space rock territory and at times even further into places Tangerine Dream and Krautrock pioneers like Klaus Schulze used to call home. Opening track “Tralfamadore” is such an odyssey, John Carpenter-esque retro-wave electronica par excellence. 

The progression doesn’t just lay here though, and indeed the most vital and exciting cuts on the album are where the band experiment: the cello-led “Du Bist Jetzt Nicht In Der Zukunft” and stomping “The Majestic Clockwork” being particularly wonderful and life-affirming examples.  The undoubted highlight of the record is “Spaceships Of Ezekiel” – a big number, perhaps their finest composition so far – on which everything the quintet has been working towards comes together in one fantastic blast. From its full tilt Iommi-worshipping opening riff, through a verse of pure infectious groove and swagger over which Ball sings like an angel, to the widescreen and panoramic Moog-led stormer of a closing passage which gives this listener the goosebumps.

This evolution of MWWB’s sound on the songs I mention above is thrilling. The only downside of that for this reviewer is that a couple of the numbers on “Yn Ol I Annwn”, which hark back to the less evolved sound of their earlier albums, are a touch pedestrian in comparison. For instance, 13-minute instrumental “Katyusha” is decent enough but doesn’t go anywhere the band haven’t been before with similar pieces “Naxthexen” or “Gallego”. But when there’s material as strong and vital as album closer “Five Days In The Abyss” on display you can forgive them the odd lapse into familiarity here and there.  Kudos to Chris Fielding for immaculately capturing every nuance and moment, and for mixing it to a tee (and to James Plotkin for the brutally heavy mastering job). It’s the best sounding album of MWWB’s career thus far.

“Yn Ol I Annwn” is undoubtedly a transitional album. The end of the trilogy, the closing of chapter one, laying the foundations for where this amazing band go next. Based on the creativity, vim and sheer sonic turbulence inherent on this record you are likely to be left properly excited about where Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard go from here. Wherever that might be I’m definitely along for the ride.

A brave, exhilarating and sumptuous record.

“Yn Ol I Annwn” is available HERE

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

VIDEO PREMIERE: Grave Lines Live Session, "Loathe/Displace"

London/Brighton heavy contingent Grave Lines who released latest album ‘Fed Into The Nihilist Engine' in the first half of 2018 have announced UK tour dates for February 2019 with Dystopian Future Movies. To help promote this upcoming tour Grave Lines have filmed some very slick live session videos and today you can check out part 1 of the session featuring “Loathe / Displace” below, vocalist Jake Harding commented on the sessions

'As something a bit different we thought it would be cool to capture the more ambient side of Grave Lines with some live sessions. Our good friend Rob "longarms" kindly let us come and do it on his beaten up old canal boat so in a lapse of judgement we decided to go and do it on one of the hottest days of the year.

Sweating bullets and burning in the sun aside we had a blast and the videos speak for themselves.

These are the 'interludes' from our album which tell their own individual stories and at the same time act as part of the narrative of 'Fed into the nihilist engine'. They explore the human relationship with negativity, but act as isolated thoughts within us.

This first track was a bit of an experiment by Julia with synths and took us all by surprise but very quickly became an integral part of the album so it’s been great working it into our live set.

As is always the case with our band this filming was made possible by our talented friends.

Camera work by the amazing Josh gaunt and Florence Pellacani.
Sound recorded and mixed by the unstoppable Chris West (check out his new project Crawling For Carrion here

UK Live Rituals dates w/ Dystopian Future Movies:

Thursday 7th February, Record Junkee, Sheffield

Friday 8th February, Wharf Chambers, Leeds

Saturday 9th February, Black Heart, Camden, London

Sunday 10th February, Chameleon Arts Cafe, Nottingham

Band info: facebook

VIDEO PREMIERE: self confessed Dark Witch Doom Duo Blacklab release "His Name Is..."

Hailing from Osaka, Japan self confessed Dark Witch Doom Duo Blacklab,  deliver  a full frontal assault of distorted riffs, howls and ghostly vocals, as well as bags of riot girrl attitude and lo-fi bravado.  Having released their new record “Under The Strawberry Moon 2.0” on July 20^th via New Heavy Sounds, expect the usual nod to Sabbath but Blacklab have a vibe and experimental undertow not to dissimilar countrymen to Boris  incorporating elements of doom, drone, sludge and black metal to produce some truly unique.  This first Blacklab release on NHS, is a version of their ‘Under The Strawberry Moon’ album which was released in tiny numbers on CD only in Japan, a pull together of previous tracks and new songs recorded over 2017.

Remixed by Wayne Adams @ Bear Bites Horse Studio to maximum effect, make no mistake this band will not disappoint and today at THE SLUDGELORD we are very fortunate to be able to debut Blacklab’s new video for the track “His Name Is ..” which you can check out below. 

Blacklab are: Yuko Morino | guitar, vocals and Chia Shiraishi | drums.  This is what the band had to say about the track

“His Name Is ..”. is a rough rock tune, which has an irregular meter and shuffle beat. The lyrics are written in Nihon-go. The song mixes melodic and barking vocals to add a hardcore element, which is very much part of our sound.  It's the song composed soon after we formed the band, and it's one of the songs that we often play when we're asked for encore.

Band info: Facebook || BandCamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Grave Lines, “Fed Into The Nihilist Engine"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/05/2018

Label: New Heavy Sounds

Grave Lines demonstrates irrefutable growth, confidence and deftness with a palette of emotional peaks and valleys.

“Fed Into The Nihilist Engine” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1). Failed Skin

2). Shame/Retreat

3). Self Mutilation by Fire and Stone

4). Loss/Betrayal

5). Silent Salt

6). Loathe/Displace

7). The Greae

8). Guilt/Regret

9). The Nihilist Engine

The Review:

The United Kingdom's doom masters Grave Lines smashed their way onto the scene in 2016 with its "Welcome to Nothing," a debut that reveled in its sweltering power – blistering drums courtesy of Julia Owen, Jake Harding's disparate vocal attack and a style that puts a noise/sludge pace on you that would make Vasyl Lomachenko himself proud. And, happily, the band is back with "Fed Into The Nihilist Engine," a rugged return if ever there was one.

Grave Lines is intriguing because of its changeups. "Failed Skin," the album's 14-plus-minute opener, is by far the longest cut, and it is melting as it is impregnable. Don't let its gentle, loping opening chords fool you. As the bass kicks in, Harding descends from the heavens, with his punctuated and flaring vocals that rattle you out of your slumber. That clarity of voice carries on to "Shame Retreat," an ethereal song that makes the most of its strengths.

Grave Lines is unctuous with its heavy tracks, which slosh in hardcore influences, such as "Self Mutilation by Fire and Stone." You also witness promise with its gracefully constructed folk-tinged songs like "Loss Betrayal" and "Loathe Displace." The sharper among us might ask if the group is pining to be a metal team or more a hard rock band with departures like this. And in fairness there may be some attention to album arrangement, or else it becomes heavy-to-lighter-to-heavy-to-lighter song, rinse and repeat. Nevertheless the tracks themselves are strong, devouring your ears and imagination.

Now into its second album, Grave Lines demonstrates irrefutable growth, confidence and deftness with a palette of emotional peaks and valleys. As "The Nihilist Engine" closes out the album, it is impossible to avoid the many paths before the group, as well as one's own curiosity for what's next.

“Fed Into The Nihilist Engine” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ELEVEN IS ONE LOUDER: Rob Hoey (Limb) picks 5 artists & bands he loves that had a great impact on heavy music... Without using mountains of distortion (and in lots of cases, none)

By: Rob Hoey

As we (Limb) get ready to release our third album “Saboteurs of the Sun...” (available here) ...I thought I'd chat about some of our influences who didn't need modern distortion to get heavy. 

A lot of people who read this will already be very aware of these artists and in writing it I thought 'if I were to read this would I find this kind of thing patronising'? Then I realised that if I hadn't heard of some of these people I wouldn't be able to appreciate the music we have today, so here's to them... The scoundrels, cads, olden day punks who said 'fuck you, I won't do what you tell me' and started something that we can still see / feel today in the roots of all that is sonically heavy. 

So even if you've heard all these before, click the links and refresh your memory while we look back and take our hats off to the men and women who carved out the path we now tread! 

1 Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1929 - 2000)

If you like Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Ghost, Kiss or any other shock rockers then you have this man to thank! Before heading to tinkle the ivories, he would emerge from a coffin onstage and wore gold and leopard skin costumes and had voodoo stage props, such as his smoking skull on a stick (called Henry). Alongside all his stage antics he had scream (hence the nickname) that would give Noddy Holder a run for his money. 

Check Out – “I Put A Spell On You”

2 Jerry Lee Lewis (1935 - Present) 

The 'killer' as he is known (and nearly for very good reason, he tried to kill Elvis, look it up) is a controversial figure and no mistake. He is a wild and unbridled force of nature and pushed rock and roll to its limits at a time that America just wasn't ready for it. He once shot a gun to wake up tired party goers who couldn't keep up with him. Any live performance of his will give you a good indication of how energised he was. Also, he played piano like he'd made a deal with Lucifer himself. (you can still catch him live if you're in the states) 

Check Out – “Wild One” 

3 Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)

Way before the metal zone pedal (or the DOD grunge for that matter) there were people who were determined to get tone henge blasting so had to be inventive. How I hear you cry? Load the bottom end of your orchestra with things like the 'octobass' a giant version of the double bass played with a bow that would make even SunnO))) smile (ok maybe not, too doom!). Richard Wagner was the king of heavy back in the day, those days being the middle of the 1800's. He was rattling the rafters way before Boris came along and showed us how to get a bass tone that would rattle your teeth straight down your neck! 

Check out – “Entrance Of The Gods Into Valhalla”

4 Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915 - 1973)

So... A white Gibson LesPaul SG with three humbuckers sounds like something Zep or The Darkness might bust out on stage but long before all that came a gospel rock whirlwind in the shape of

Sister Rosetta Tharpe and man could she play. She cemented her place in rock and roll history when she embarked upon a European tour with Muddy Waters in 1963 (her UK debut was in Manchester) she noted as an influence by prominent British guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Richards

Check Out – “Up Above My Head”

5 Lead Belly (1888 - 1949)

Here we have Lead Belly a ne'er do well, moonshine swilling multi instrumentalist who saw his fair share of hardship which lead him to sing about women, liquor, prison life, and racism. He was also known to write songs about people in the news, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler and Howard Hughes. You might know him best from Nirvana's cover of “My Girl (where did you sleep last night)”. They don't come much rougher round the edges than Lead Belly and if you scratch the surface of his prolific song library you'll find it paints a picture of man who lived hard and played harder. 

Check Out – “Black Girl (in the pines)”

Band info: facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: London heavyweights Limb debut "Wych Elm"

London heavyweights Limb set the controls for the heart of the sun with their third record on New Heavy Sounds.  “Saboteurs of the Sun” sees Limb hurl themselves skyward to discover new worlds within the riff–time continuum.  Building on their previous two records, which positioned the band in the thick of the UK heavy fuzz scene, the band now move beyond their sludge–doom origins to explore a cosmos of bubbling synthesizers, screaming organs, ecstatic choirs and galaxies of wild unidentified sounds, but feaer not the grooves, the power and the chops are all there in spades – helped by a masterful production from Russ Russell (Napalm Death, At the Gates, etc.)  “Saboteurs Of The Sun” will land on May 25^th and today you can get your first taste of the record  with an exclusive stream of the track “Wych Elm” below.  Preorders are being taken here

Singer Rob Hoey had the following to say about track:

"In 1943, a woman’s dead body was found stuffed inside the hollow trunk of a wych elm tree in the West Midlands. No-one knows who she was. Perhaps she was a Nazi spy, perhaps a local prostitute, perhaps the victim of an occult killing – after all, her severed hand was found elsewhere, consistent with the ‘Hand of Glory’ ritual. The mystery remains very much alive through the enigmatic reappearance of graffiti asking, “Who put Bella in the wych elm?” We still want to know."

Limb Live Rituals:

​

Sat 19 May - London, Underdog Gallery

Fri 25 May - Bournemouth, The Anvil

Sat 26 May - Southampton, Firehouse

Sun 27 May - Cardiff, Tiny Rebel, Cardiff Psych and Noise Fest

Band info: facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Limb cover Andrew WK's "Party Hard" to coincide with Euro Tour Dates

In their first release since the 2015 album ‘Terminal’ (review here) Limb have recorded a version of Andrew WK’s ‘Party Hard’ and put their own twist on proceedings. In a light-hearted and momentary move away from their doom and stoner roots Limb have put together this track to advertise their upcoming dates which have been booked for mainland Europe but start with a one off show at Hard Rock Hell’s ‘Doom vs Stoner’ festival in Sheffield this weekend. You can check  out the track below and you can Catch them partying hard here…

Saturday 1 October – Hard Rock Hell, (w/ Orange Goblin, Conan, Vodun & more), Sheffield (UK)

Saturday 15 October – Beta2300, Copenhagen (DK)
Wednesday 19 October - Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER)
Thursday 20 October - Tiefgrund (w/ Fistula, Grime), Berlin (GER)
Friday 21 October - Dynamo (w/ Monolord, Earth Ship, Zaum, Bark), Eindhoven (NL)
Saturday 22 October – Into The Void Festival (W/ loads!), Leeuwarden (NL)

Band info: Facebook || BandCamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - ‘“Y Proffwyd Dwyll”

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 30/09/2016
Label: New Heavy Sounds

  

“Y Proffwyd Dwyll” is a celestial voyage of crushing density.  “Valmasque” sets the tone for the album, establishing a towering wall of sound built from huge lumbering riffs, set against a backdrop of swirling space noise and sci-fi synths that enhance their attack and swell their sound to a galactic scale.  Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard have struck gold here with their distinct brand of spaced-out carnage.

‘“Y Proffwyd Dwyll” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Valmasque
2). Y Proffwyd Dwyll
3). Gallego
4). Testudo
5). Osirian
6). Cithuula

The Review:

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard is a name that conjures certain preconceptions. New LP “Y Proffwyd Dwyll” is a colossal slab of cosmic heaviosity worthy of such a ludicrous moniker. However, the execution of these six epic tracks is a million miles from the standard stoner doom you might expect from a band whose name could’ve been generated by pointing at four random words on an Electric Wizard lyric sheet.

“Valmasque” sets the tone for the album, establishing a towering wall of sound built from huge lumbering riffs. The band more than hold their own in this department, the monstrous intro of “Osirian” being a particularly prime example. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard have a couple of tricks up their sleeve though that elevate their sound into another dimension.

The first is their use of electronics. The whole record is awash with swirling space noise and sci-fi synths that enhance their attack and swell their sound to a galactic scale. The instrumental “Gallego” brings to mind Hawkwind and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop after undergoing a sludge conversion.

The other key element here is the vocals. On first listen Jessica Ball’s vocals seem too smooth and polished against the mayhem in the background. Subsequent listens reveal them to be the lynchpin that brings everything together. Coated in layers of sweet reverb, they increase the hypnotic psychedelia of the music while adding catchy melodic hooks. The poppy chorus of “Valmasque” is like Grimes fronting Sleep doing the soundtrack to 70’s Doctor Who. The climax of “Cithuula” sees her channelling Chino Moreno at his most dramatic while the band provide a suitably crushing Deftones-indebted backdrop.

“Y Proffwyd Dwyll” is a celestial voyage of crushing density that threatens to draw their home of Wrexham into a black hole. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard have struck gold here with their distinct brand of spaced-out carnage.

‘“Y Proffwyd Dwyll” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

RIYL: Conan, Slomatics, Yob, Windhand