666 PACK REVIEW: The Best of the "666 PACK REVIEW" 2019

By: Nikos Mixas

If you’ve been paying attention, the 666 Pack Review is an abbreviated review column mostly focused on very new bands or bands that have submitted demo material to THE SLUDGELORD.  The basic premise is that 6 bands are critiqued using only 6 words and on a scale from 1 to 666.  What you see below is the best of the year 2019 for the “666 Pack Review”.  There were 8 bands that received the highest of ratings so please go show them some love by revisiting their music and their web pages.  We at THE SLUDGELORD hope great things come to them.  Congrats and hails to those bands that made the list!  May 2020 be sludgier and heavier!

January – There were two 666’s! (Does that make it 1332 or 121212?)

ILS “Pain Don’t Hurt” (Portland, U.S.A.)

This band won the Portland trophy. 

Yuxa “Yuxa” (Brighton, United Kingdom) 

If Godflesh kicked the industrial habit…

February

Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch “Spell Book I: Ceridwen” (Denver, U.S.A.)

Guitar tone alone worth the 666!  

April

Mireplaner “A Mountain of Saola Hooves” (Finland)

Guaranteed to cardiac arrest old people.

May

Inhuman Nature “Inhuman Nature” (London, United Kingdom)

Sexy thrash ala the Bay Area!

August

Old Horn Tooth “From The Ghost Grey Depths” (London, U.K.)

God-doom fucking-tastic start to the month!

September

MUNT “Towards Extinction” (Melbourne, Australia)

Fucking hate on the barbie mate!

October

Adliga “Kali Paćjače Njeba” (Minsk, Belarus) 

Belarus for the win!  Отлично comrades!

6 NEW BANDS: THE SLUDGELORD's "666 Pack Review" (February 2019)

By: Nikos Mixas

Well this year is already off to a quick start and here we are with February 2019’s edition of the THE SLUDGELORD’s “666 Pack Review”.  It’s been a dreary winter so far but the submissions have been quite the opposite.  Let’s see what arrived in THE SLUDGELORD’s inbox for this month.  If you’re new to this, each and every month we handpick 6 review submissions and critique them by only using 6 words, then we rate them on a scale from 1 to 666!  Check out our dreary/doom inspired rating scale below: 

1 – Die.

2 – No one will remember your band after our review.  

3 – Can you be average and miserable?  You just nailed it.    

4 – The power of your darkness compels us.         

5 – Is there a thing such as happy gloom.  If there is, that’s what this is all about.  

666 – THE SLUDGELORD bathes in tears of melancholy despondency and has only the upmost sadness from this offering of despair.

Caveat:  Even though the “666 Pack Review” is meant to offer humorous critique, there are no safe spaces here and your gripes will only make you sound like a bellyacher.  THE SLUDGELORD is a picky listener…and doesn’t care what you think of his opinions….

1). MoYan “Hypnic Fall” (Strasbourg, France)  Rating: 5

Here we go, some instrumental depression.

2). Lost Relics “1st” (Denver, U.S.A.)   Rating: 3

A rawer version of Black Tusk.

 

3). The Valley Ritual “Remembrance” (Orlando, U.S.A.)   Rating: 4

Black Metal Mastodon without Disneyworld influences

4). Mycelium “Disassemble Reconstruct” (London, U.K.)   Rating: 3

Instrumental Black Metal depression.  Production lacks.   

 

5). Void Tripper “Sabbath Worshipping Doom” (Fortaleza, Brazil) Rating: 2

The perennial opening band right here…

 

6). Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch “Spell Book I: Ceridwen” (Denver, U.S.A.)   Rating: 666!

Guitar tone alone worth the 666!  

Band info: MoYan || The Valley Ritual || Void Tripper || Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch