EP PREMIERE: Oriza deliver politically charged noise fest on self titled EP

Hailing from Margate, Kent and Utilizing a slightly unorthodox line up of drums, two basses and noise setup with no guitar and minimal use of pedals, Oriza's politically motivated amalgamation of D Beat, Sludge, Black Metal and Powerviolence is getting its debut at THE SLUDGELORD, with the exclusive stream of their self-titled EP which is set for release on 15/12/2019 via Astral Noize Records & Halfmeltedbrain Records.  Check it out in full and preorder a copy HERE

FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: Riffs of Canada with Wake [Calgary, Alberta]

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 23/02/2018

Label: Translation Loss

“Misery Rites” is a standout contemporary extreme metal record one of the most punishing heavy music albums of the year so far.

“Misery Rites” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Exhumation

2). Misery Rites

3). Embers

4). Rot

5). Paradigm Rot

6). Exile

7). Rumination

8). Bitter Winter

9). Burial Ground

The Review:

Canada’s most complex grindcore band returns with “Misery Rites”. Taking a lot of what the band had previously done on “Sowing the Seeds of a Worthless Tomorrow”, and further pushing elements of black and death metal. The album is one of the most punishing heavy music albums of the year so far.

From the very start, the record opens on a different path. The sludge riffs on “Exhumation” would make Primitive Man proud. In true grind fashion, however, the album is still full of blast-beats. They are interspersed with moments of dissonant death metal riffage; “Paradigm Lost” and “Exile” utilize this structure in a way that make the heaviest moments stand out. This band really excels at building peaks and valleys in its music for the listener.

Drummer Josh Bueckert really stands out on this record. The drum patterns create a lot of surprising twists and turns. The continual motion on tracks like “Burial Ground” showcase a variety in drum patterns rarely heard in heavy music. “Misery Rites” is a standout contemporary extreme metal record that sees this band moving further into other forms of heavy music, and finding their unique sound

“Misery Rites” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Cloud Rat/Disrotted - "Split LP"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Split 12”

Date Released: 02/06/2017

Label: Dry Cough Records |

Halo of Flies

This is an awe-inspiring release from two incredible bands who can seemingly do no wrong at the moment and continue to deliver an embarrassment of heavy riches in 2017.

"Clout Rat/Disrotted" Split DD//LP track listing:

1). Cloud Rat – “Holding the Picture”

2). Disrotted – “Disrotted”

The Review:

Cloud Rat and Disrotted continue their intense 2017 release schedules with a killer split LP of contrasting styles. This split has come into being due to the strong bond between the two bands and while it may seem a strange stylistic pairing in theory it works a treat in practice.

Michigan’s Cloud Rat depart from their usual format of short, sharp bursts of mayhem and deliver one eighteen minute monster. “Holding The Picture” begins in familiar territory, a whirlwind blur of chaotic screamo and relentless grindcore. The volume soon dips and the tempo decreases as the track develops into a slow-burning epic that smoulders with restrained power. This more melodic approach recalls Converge’s calmer moments delivered against a barren dustbowl backdrop reminiscent of Earth. It is a breathtaking achievement to create a beast of such sublime complexity and weighty emotional impact from the band’s minimal set-up of vocals, drums and guitar augmented only by occasional piano. This may not be Cloud Rat at their heaviest but they ably demonstrate that they lose none of their intensity and impact when they push their sound into quieter and more experimental realms.

Disrotted’s contribution to this split is twenty three minutes of slow-motion terror entitled “Disrotted”.  The Chicago trio deal in a potent blend of Burning Witch / Monarch! style drone doom that creates maximum impact from minimal motion. Once the band launch into their sluggish, broken groove of feedback-drenched riffs and primal drums there is no escape from its dark density. The passage of time becomes irrelevant as they subject the listener to an experience that is crushingly bleak yet strangely soothing.

This is an awe-inspiring release from two incredible bands who can seemingly do no wrong at the moment and continue to deliver an embarrassment of heavy riches in 2017.

“Cloud Rat/Distrotted” is available here (UK/Europe) & (US/ROW) here

Band info: Cloud Rat || Disrotted

REVIEW: "Moloch/Disrotted" & "Cloud Rat/Moloch" (Splits)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Splits

Date Released: 10/05/2017 |10/04/2017

Labels: Feast of Tentacles |

Halo of Flies

“Disrotted/Molch Split 7”//DD track listing:

1). Disrotted – “Deliquium”

2). Moloch – “Fleshwound”

“Cloud Rat/Moloch Split 12”//DD track listing:

1). Clout Rat – “Sueno”

2). Cloud Rat – “Perdiak”

3). Cloud Rat – “Stench”

4). Cloud Rat – “Baby Sling (Balloon Born)”

5). Cloud Rat – “Biting the Air”

6). Cloud Rat – “Pit”

7). Cloud Rat – “Amber Flush”

8). Moloch – “The Ninth Wave/Bloody North”

9). Moloch – “Lead”

The Review:

2017 looks set to be an amazing year for Moloch. The Nottingham sludge dealers will be spreading their crushing misery across the US in support of Thou in the summer and are about to unleash a cavalcade of new releases. The first two waves in this attack are a couple of mighty splits; an LP with Michigan grind/punk whirlwind Cloud Rat and a 7” with funereal Chicago doomers Disrotted.

I’ve been hungry for more Moloch since their great 2016 split LP with Lich. The new material on offer across these two new records more than lives up to my expectations and sees the band take their sickening racket to new levels of extremity.

“The Ninth Wave / Bloody North” opens the Moloch side of the Cloud Rat split with twelve minutes of unrelenting terror. It begins with lumbering stop/start riffs and harrowing howls that establish a mood of all-encompassing dread from the very first second. The track degenerates further into a bottomless pit of despair, like a mix of Eyehategod and early Swans filtered through a grimy noise rock lens. Just when you think this treacly crawl could not get any more unpleasant, the track drops down to a lone dirty bass and screeching feedback which acts a backdrop for a harrowing sample of indecipherable barked threats and desperate tears. It’s unlikely you will hear a more distressing and powerful track this year.

“Lead” offers some relative respite from this onslaught but still consists of repetitive bludgeoning riffs. It sees Moloch expanding their sonic horizons to take in some unhinged lead guitar squalls and more expansive sounds that bring a hint of black metal to the pounding finale.

The band’s contribution to the split 7” with Disrotted is the most direct of these new tracks. Relatively perky by Moloch’s standards, it’s a hard-riffing no-nonsense sludge assault but still mired in a swamp of feedback and filth.

Moloch’s offerings on these splits see them raise their already impressive game, making them the ones to beat when it comes to ugly, messy, noise-riddled doom. My ears and soul should have recovered from the carnage inflicted by these new songs just in time to enjoy their imminent new LP.

The best part of split releases is getting introduced to killer new bands and Moloch have teamed up with first class partners here.  Disrotted contribute seven minutes of slow motion punishment to their split 7”. The band’s brand of Burning Witch-style torment is a good foil for Moloch’s more aggressive approach, unleashing molasses-thick waves of doom that wash over the listener to create a dense, hypnotic wall of sound. Once you’ve entered the dark cloud of Disrotted’s aural domain, it’s hard to pull yourself free.

Cloud Rat’s ever-shifting blend of high octane grind, crust and hardcore punk is completely captivating and a brilliant contrast to Moloch’s drudgery. “Sueno” kicks things off with a pummelling intro riff that blurs into chaotic screamo mayhem while “Baby Sling / Balloon Born” introduces some spidery, discordant guitar lines that shift into furious d-beat sections that recall the fury of the much-missed Hammers. Every track here is loaded with twists and turns that strike the right balance between complexity and no-nonsense rock fury that results in an addictive blast of cathartic fury. The hints of keyboards throughout these tracks culminate in the glorious curveball of closing track “Amber Fury”. A brooding piece of post-punk synthcore it sounds like Cold Cave being played through a broken radio. The fuzzy lo-fi production only adds to its haunting quality. Somehow this complete change of sound sits perfectly beside the chaos that precedes it and within the split LP as a whole. It demonstrates that Cloud Rat are an amazing band who could turn their hand to pretty much any genre and produce gold.

Overall, these two splits are both essential purchases that showcase three incredible underground bands. Buy now.

“Disrotted/Moloch” is available here and “Cloud Rat/Moloch” is available here and USA

Band info: Moloch Facebook || Disrotted Facebook || Clout Rat Facebook