Welcome to The Sludgelord!
Presenting up to date news, reviews & interviews for riff addicts around the world.
This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
Hey everyone, yes it's that time of the month again,
its Bandcamp Friday, which means all sales go directly to the artist/label, so
if ever there was a time to support labels, today is that day.
To celebrate, I'm excited to announce a brand new
preorder and more importantly we're excited to share with you the upcoming
release of "Gorb", the brand new record from SALTBUCK, a devastatingly bleak sludge band from
the UK.
The album consists of four bleak and super heavy
tracks. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Wayne Adams, who has
worked on a number of other records we have released on Sludgelord Records,
including the mighty TORPOR.
The preorder is live now and "Gorb"
will be issued on limited edition CD. Not only that, you can stream the opening
track "Heresy" now. We are excited about this collaboration
and we hope you like it.
Check it is out, place an order and support the
underground.
By: Richard Maw Album Type: Full Length Date Released: 26th April 2024 Label: Season of Mist
“The Way Forward” CD//DD//LP track listing: 1). Out Of Grasp 2). Brushfire 3). Harness (The
Alchemist) 4). Lessons Through
Deception 5). Breath Of Life 6). Dance On Your Grave 7). Against The Undertow 8). Lift Yourself 9). Ocean Of Obsidian 10). Flee From Dawn 11). The Way Forward The Review: Black Tuskare
back with another very noisy 35 minutes of punky, sludgy, speedy goodness.
These Savannah veterans have been around for some time now and have even
survived the tragic death of original bassist/vocalist Jonathan Athon. Since Athon’s last
appearance on the “Pillars of Ash” record, we have had a new
line-up put forth “Taking Care of Business”, a b-sides comp and
now “The Way Forward”. Black Tuskare best compared to an early Mastodonwith prevalent punk influences or a punk Baronesswithout dynamics or texture. If that sounds
like your thing- and you’ve never heard the band- you’ll love this. The sound is raw, loud,
fast and in your face. The songs are short and to the point; eleven tracks and
the first three blaze by with “Harness (The Alchemist)” being my pick of
the opening trio with its Motorheadpacing and attitude.
Having solidified as a four piece line up, the guitars do more- more interplay
and more weight. The drums and bass rumble and thrash very convincingly and the
whole effect is gnarly, noisy and absolutely over the top. As the album goes on, the
band is taking care of business in the way they know best: as usual. There are
no great surprises, no huge changes of direction. While the riffage of “Breath
of Life” may reference Fu
Manchu,Black
Tuskare a much more frenetic kind of beast; revved up and turbo
charged. There’s nothing weak
here, nothing wasted either. It is exactly what you expect it to be and it is
what it is when you first hear it. Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay
here is that “The Way Forward” is real! What you hear is what was
played. It sounds live and reckless and full of energy. No sound replacements
or overproduction- just a tight band playing as hard as they can- kind of like
a modern spin on Black
Flagmixed
up with any of the bands previously mentioned. Truthfully, you can press
play on any track here and know EXACTLY what the band is about. “Dance On
Your Grave” is great and full on, but I could say that about “Against
The Undertow” or “Lift Yourself” or.. any song. Yep, Black Tuskhave done it again- they
continue to produce noisy and totally committed music in the most unfussy and
direct fashion. With the way things are going, we need Black Tusk more
than ever. Essential. “The Way Forward”
is available HERE
Formed in late 2013 in the Gem City, Maharaja are a
sludge steamroller ready to lay waste to everything in their path. Their sound
is undeniably heavy and visceral; theirs is a sound you can feel; it jars your
bones and shakes you to your core. Maharaja's truth lies
within their bottomless heft, groove, and subject matter. While the seeds were
planted with their 2014 demo and 2017 debut album, Kali Yuga, the
band have completely blossomed on new album “Aviarium,” which you
can stream in all it ungodly glory below. Official release date is tomorrow, 09/12/2022 via Seeing Red Records
By: Richard Maw Album Type: Full Length Date Released: 07/10/2022 Label: Metal Blade Records
“Angels Hung From The Arches of Heaven” CD//DD//LP track listing: 1. Invocation 3
2. Born of Satan's Flesh
3. The Bestowal of Abomination
4. Angels Hung from the Arches of Heaven
5. Death from Above
6. Ruinous Liturgy
7. Victory Is the Lightning of Destruction
8. Voracious Blood Fixation
9. The Devil's Warlords
10. Weight of a Soulless Heart
11. Nihil
12. And I Was Delivered from the Wound of Perdition The Review: Yet another classic band
from NOLA, Goatwhorehave been at the coal face
of extreme metal for twenty years plus. Unbelievable, but true. They’ve enough
albums under their (studded?) belts now that I was wondering if the spite, the
energy, the ferocity would still be there. Well, it’s not only there- it’s
burning brighter than ever! “Invocation 3” sets
the tone and then “Born of Satan’s Flesh” brings the speed and power.
From there, it’s all ferocious… and with a myriad of genres cropping up. This
is not one dimensional at all. It mixes death metal, thrash, post metal and
black metal in a gumbo that I can only really describe as ‘extreme metal.’ Each
track brings something different, whether it be the blackened/post vibes of the
title track or the thrashing brutality of “Death from Above”. The songs themselves are uniformly
tight and muscular in terms of composition; and they are aided by an
appropriately tight and muscular production and mix. There’s no fat here and
only the closer “And I was Delivered from the Wound of Perdition” really
lengthens the band’s stride. Elsewhere it’s all focus and drive. It’s one of my favourite
extreme metal releases from the last year and I can’t fault it. It has the
energy and burning ambition of bands half Goatwhore’sage (both in the band members’ physical age and
in terms of their recording career). There is everything to like about this
gnarled beast of an album and nothing to complain about it. It’s well balanced,
streamlined and brutal in the right measure. Just have a listen to any track,
or try “Victory Is the Lightning of Destruction” or “The Devil’s
Warlords” Or “Ruinous Liturgy” or… well, any track. Superb and vicious metal, in every way. “Angels Hung From The
Arches of Heaven” is available now
Wow, where the hell does the time go, eh? It has been 4 long years since our last
Records of their Years feature and you must turn the clock back even further still,
to 2013, since we last featured the sludge juggernaut that isArmed for Apocalypse.
The feature, which was published on June 21st
2013, has stuck with me over the years for a couples of reasons, firstly, I wrote the article on Fathers day and
like today’s guest Cayle Hunter, he is also a family man and knows the struggles
of balancing their work and home life against their passion for music and
secondly, 9 years later, I am scratching my head and wondering why the hell are
this band not huge by now.
People, that time is now, for in the year two thousand and
twenty two, the riff gods have answered our prayers. Armed for Apocalypse are back baby. Not only that, they have also dropped their
heaviest and best album to date in the form of “Ritual Violence”
and today I have hooked with my mate, Cayle Hunter to discuss his “Records of
their years”.
Before we get into that, remember, when you listen to
their new album “One does not simply listen to Armed for Apocalypse,one must listen at maximum volume, to achieve
maximum violence”
THE SLUDGELORD: Hey
Cayle, thanks for doing this. Can you
tell our readers about your favourite album or albums from the year you were
born?
Cayle: This is a tough one because I’m old as hell,
there were a ton of absolute classics that came out during that time, and I’ll
bet my answer would have changed several times throughout my life.
It should also be noted I’m answering your question,
my favorite, not “the best”, because I think “Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac or The Clashself-titled are probably
the best.
My favorite: “Bad Reputation” by Thin Lizzy.
From the opening gong sound of “Soldier of Fortune”
I am completely invested in this record, especially when it kicks right into
the signature guitarmonies Lizzydoes better than everyone,
including Iron Maiden.
The title track is a snarling rocker that definitely lands on the darker side
of the band’s catalogue, which I love.
The highlight for me, and what makes it my favorite
from this year, is the back-to-back combo of “Southbound” and “Dancing
in the Moonlight”. These two songs have been played in our band van
hundreds of times. We walk around randomly singing the hooks out loud to each
other and it gets a sing-along or a laugh every time. It’s a perfect soundtrack
for driving through the open spaces of places you’ve never seen before, and I
highly recommend the experience to everyone reading this.
THE SLUDGELORD: Who
were some of your musical heroes growing up and how did the shape your musical
journey?
Cayle: My earliest musical heroes oddly enough were
rappers. I grew up going to the worst elementary school in my town, but the
kids there had great taste in music. My taste in hip hop followed the same arc
as my taste in rock: I started light, then gravitated towards the darker or
more extreme artists. At the time it was NWApushing the limits, getting arrested, getting censored and
having their music banned. They were so damn cool! Dr Dreis still a hero of mine to this day because the music he
creates is so timeless, and Ice
Cubescared
every parent in America back then. Bad ass.
As I grew and my tastes evolved, I got new heroes. Black Sabbath. Page Hamilton. Bad Brains. Danzig.
Pantera. Then I went back to see what music came before my time and
found even more heroes. Miles
Davis, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonderetc. Far more than I can list here.
These heroes shaped my musical journey because of what
they have in common. They don’t sound like anyone else, and they don’t want to
sound like anyone else. They are independent thinkers who are only interested
in sounding like the best version of themselves. That authenticity is my
highest aspiration. True expression. We try our best to apply that to AforA.
THE SLUDGELORD: First
record you bought with your own money, how old were you and where did you
purchase it?
Cayle: Can I throw a little curve ball at this one and
give you the first record I stole? Haha! It was “Vivid” by Living Colour, and I
stole it from a drug store in Redding, California when I was in middle school.
Great record, stupid thing to do.
The first CD I purchased with my own money was “Betty”
by Helmet.
I’ve talked about this a lot in the past, but that band and that record changed
everything for me.
THE SLUDGELORD: An
album or albums you bought based purely on the album artwork?
Cayle: This was a pretty normal occurrence for me
before you could listen to everything so easily. My biggest hit is an easy one
to remember: “Chaos A.D.” by Sepultura. I didn’t think the artwork was especially good,
or even that striking really, but it was in the “Metal” section, the name was
unique and it kept jumping out at me. I remember thinking it was going to sound
industrial or something, which is why I didn’t pull the trigger. But one day I
took the leap and was greeted by one of the finest collection of riffs ever
assembled. A total classic.
It should also be said, I bought some complete bull
shit based on the artwork too but finding “Chaos A.D.” was worth all of
the failures.
THE SLUDGELORD: What
is your go to non-metal / rock album?
Cayle: Man! These are such tough questions! You keep
asking me to be so decisive when I love so much music!
If I have to pick one, it would probably be the blue
album by Weezer.
To me it’s perfect. It’s pop music played in a heavy way. The guitar and bass
tone on that record would put most stoner and doom bands to shame, and there is
a melancholy to it that makes it personal and relatable.
It’s my favorite driving record, and driving is my
favorite time to listen to music.
THE SLUDGELORD: An
album from the past or present that disappointed you at the time but you have
since grown to love?
Cayle: This is the most embarrassing answer ever,
especially coming from a metal head, so please don’t laugh me off the internet:
“The Great Southern Trendkill” by Pantera.
I KNOW!!!!
I don’t know what I was expecting, and to this day I
can’t imagine why I didn’t connect with it on the first listen. I do remember
going through an artsy fartsy stage at the time and being sort of turned off by
the overtly macho side of metal for a while, but that’s no excuse.
Later, after I got over being cooler-than-though, I
gave it another shot and was immediately filled with shame. I had slept on one
of the best metal records ever for no good god damn reason. We all make
mistakes…
THE SLUDGELORD: Your
favourite album of all time or if you prefer, an album or album (s) you’d run
back into a burning building to rescue?
Cayle: I do not have a favorite album. I have an upper
echelon of records and it’s impossible to pick one. But I don’t want to be a
coward and ditch this question, so I’ll say “NOLA” by Down.
This was another record I missed out on, but I didn’t
sleep on it as much as I simply didn’t hear about it. I remember my friend
telling me one day that Phil from Panterahad
a band with the dudes from Crowbar,
COCand Eyehategodand I thought he was
joking! Then he said, “I heard it’s not that great”, and I didn’t even know
what it was called so I didn’t really go dig for it. Then one day he had it in
his car and we checked it out. Game over.
The cool part about that record is the more I listened
to it the more I loved it. I liked it at first, I love it like an old friend
now. It’s like Black
Sabbath andtuned-down
Lynyrd Skynyrdwith Phil Anslemo singing
over it, at the top of his game no less. It simply doesn’t get old.
There was a time that I owned four copies of that
record. One for my car, one for my house, one for work and one to have in a CD
folder to take in other people’s cars in case they didn’t have it. That’s how
badly I wanted it around me at all times.
THE SLUDGELORD: What
are some of your favourite album (s) of year?
Cayle: In no particular order:
Conjurer,
“Pathos”
Fit For an
Autopsy, “Oh What the Future Holds”
Cult of Luna“The Long Road North”
Cave In“Heavy Pendulum”
Immolation
“Acts of God”
Bloodmoon:
I
Undeath“It’s Time…To Rise from
the Grave”
THE SLUDGELORD: ..and
finally The last album you bought
Cayle: Conjurer, “Pathos”. Always have to support great friends doing
great things!
“Hell is only a word,
the reality is much worse” Event Horizon 1997
Delivering a record
with the ferocity and intensity of Pilori’s sophomore Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le
Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous,” roughly translated as “Even though Hell and the Deluge Would Fall on Us”, makes
me wonder whether the band themselves, have actually visited hell and brought this
record back with them.
To experience “Quand
Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous“in all its
hellish glory, is to imagine being wrapped up in barbed wire and thrown down a hill. Today we have invited front man Greg from Pilori to discuss how this punishing record
came to be.
SL: Hey Greg, welcome to THE SLUDGELORD!! Could you tell our readers a little about yourself, how you started playing music, leading up
to the formation of your band?
Gr. (vocals): First
of all, I wanna say 'hi !' to all the readers of this. Then, we're Pilori, we come from
Rouen, in Normandy (France), and we're four lads in the band. As so many and
many bands, the start of Pilori
is simple and not so interesting. I know my guitarist, R., for years now and
one day, at the release party of his other band, The Birds End, which is instrumental
post-rock, he came to see me cause he wanna play something different, something
more in his black metal/death metal/crust hardcore roots. I was fucking excited
about the idea to play this kind of sounds that I loved, but even more excited
to play with him cause he’s a fucking good guitarist and a fucking good guy. We
began to write the first tracks, we began to looking for musicians to play with
us... So it was, as simple as it seems, the beginning of Pilori. Nothing more.
You see : not interesting haha !
SL: For those people unfamiliar with Pilori, are there any
bands on the scene past and present that you would use as a reference point to
describe your band, and who or what continues to inspire you and push you to
try new things?
Gr. (vocals): I think that Pilori is a sum of a lot of different bands, of a lot of
different influences. I think this is our print now, our style, and it's that
people often write and say about us. You can find black and death influences,
blend with some grind, chaotic and crust influences. So, I could tell about
bands like Napalm Death,
Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Angelcorpse, Immortal,
Watain, Rotten Sound, Darkthrone, Nails, Full of Hell, Gaza, Cult Leader...
For the most recent stuffs, and also more local cause they're french, I wanna
also talk about Fange,
Mourir, Plebeian Grandstand, Celeste...
I just talk about bands from the scene that we really like, cause we aren't
listen just extreme music. For example, I'm a huge listener of post-punk shit
and there are a lot of bands who inspired me in this kind of sounds. It's the
same for the other members. I really think that the other genres are opening us
to new sounds and allows us to try new things.
Personally, there are plenty of songs in this album that I really really
like, that I like to listen to, that I like to play. I like my own voice, what
I've done, which is not always the case, even if I still think that here or
here I could do more, I could bo better... Regarding our local scene, in Rouen,
I think that no one does the same sound or the same style as us. I also think
this is real for the French scene in general. We're pretty unique haha !!! But
I don't like comparison, competition, so I'll stop it right now.
SL: What was the
writing and rehearsal process like for your album
Gr. (vocals): Our first LP, “À Nos Morts”, was released in
May 2020, during the Covid pandemic. So we were in a dynamic, we wanna make
things, and in the meantime we were very frustrated, but not resigned. We try
our best to take all the opportunities to play and tour when it was possible,
and we also have some times to keep writing songs with the curfew or lockdown.
This first album was very well-received, so it motivated us a lot. We took this
dynamic and this frustration, and, in addition to “classic” rehearsals, two
times we rent an Airbnb in the Normandy countryside, in the middle of nowhere,
and lock ourselves during days, to write this new album. We just played music
all day long between us. After that, we keep writing and make the song
arrangements from home cause it's very easy now, all the new technologies
allowed it.
SL: What
stands out as your overarching memory from the recording sessions? Gr. (vocals): A lot of positive things. Really. Even if I try hard, I
can't remember something negative. We were very well-prepared, we made demo of
each song, we went a lot in rehearsals, and we recorded in a place that we know
by heart with a guy who know us by heart (La Gare aux Musiques with Bertrand
Lebourgeois, at 30 kms of Rouen). When we made our first album, we were less
prepared, and, except for the drum parts, we done it in some kind of DIY
spirit, ‘cause we recorded it ourselves in the super tiny home studio of our
former bassist. For this new record, we took more times, in a “real” studio with better
stuffs, better materials, and a “real” sound guy. Everything was easier, and every
one of us was super excited to play and record his parts. If I could keep just
one memory, I would say the first day of guitar takes. When my drummer, my bass
player and me came at the studio, our guitarist was already there and has already
prepared all his stuffs with our sound guy. There were 4 cabinets with 4 amp
heads and a ton of pedals around, and nearly ten mics to record all this shit.
I can easily remember the smile on all our faces, and the excitation that we
all felt at the moment where we started recording the guitar and when we heard
that crazy sound. SL: Does
anything spring to mind when you think about the completion of your new
album and with than in mind, how is the mood in the camp at present?
Gr. (vocals): In our camp,
the mood is always good, always positive! I think that is why the things goes
so well for Pilori : I've the huge
chance to work with great dudes who are great friends, they all have a good
mentality, a good state of mind. I'm serious, I mean it, this is the best
line-up and the best people to work with. So, the mood is offensive now: we
wanna do things, play a lot, defend this album anywhere and everywhere !
SL: There
is often very little focus given to the album artwork, which for me is an
integral part of the record, can you tell us a little about the artist, how the
artwork come to fruition and your thoughts on the completed piece? Perhaps tell us about some of your own
favourite album covers? Gr. (vocals): The artwork was made by an Indonesian artist, Jois Cabe.
He's also the guy behind our first album cover. It's an amazing artist and a
great dude, it was a real pleasure to work with him again. I've just gave him
the name of the album, the meaning of it, and he can do whatever he want and
feel. Our talks and exchanges were good, he quickly understood the point. Like
you, the visuals are an important part of an album for me, and I really think
that this artwork is the perfect fit for this album. We're very proud of it,
really, we find it awesome, more than expected! And we've very good feedback on
it.
To talk about my favorite album covers, I just wanna say that I've always loved
covers without artist names. When you have just an artwork, a visual, and no
other infos. I always found it great, that's why we do it with Pilori haha! SL: With your new record
completed, what are you planning as far as shows in the near future? Gr. (vocals): We plan to do a lot of shows cause we love playing and
touring so much. Be on the road, it's one of the thing we like the most. So
it's the plan: play as much as possible, anywhere. Till the end of 2022, we
already have 19 shows scheduled, in Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and for sure, in France. Some shows and tour are
also already booked for 2023. And, when we'll be tired about playing and
touring, we'll do a new album ! SL: Finally,
do you have any last words? Gr. (vocals): Thanks to you for your interest, thanks to everyone who's
reading this, thanks to everyone who support us in any way. And don't forget to support your local scene
and independent/underground bands. Go to the shows in the tiny club of your
city, buy some merch, and keep listening to all the underground scene. It's
always a thug time for this scene, and it's always getting worse and worse. So
many independent venues are closing... The End.
By: Richard
Maw Album Type: Full Length Date Released: 26/08/2022 Label: 7 degrees | Abyssal
Cvlt | Bad Moon Rising |
Black Omega Recordings | Black Terror Distro | BRC-30
Coups de Couteau | Hecatombe Records | Itawak Records |
Black Omega Recordings | Black Terror Distro | BRC-30
Coups de Couteau | Hecatombe Records | Itawak Records | Loner Cult | Sleepy
Dog Records | Terrain Vague | Ugly & Proud Records | Wrecking Crew Records
|Total Dissonance Worship
By: Richard
Maw Album Type: Full Length Date Released: 26/08/2022 Label:Debemur Morti Productions
“Aeternum” CD//SS//DD//LP track listing: 1. Letum
2. Divinitas
3. Exhaurire
4. Interitus
5. Tacet
6. Accipis
7. Nunquam
8. Vulnera
9. Captivus
10. Memento
11. Amissus
12. Aeternum The Review: Copenhagen’s Hexishave clocked up over 800
gigs over their lifespan thus far- so hard touring seems to be part of their
DNA. The rest of their DNA seems to be blackened hardcore- mixing the
aggression of Agnostic
Frontwith
the sweeping wall of noise of, well, any number of Scandi-BM acts. These Danes bring
aggression and speed across the first two tracks and when “Letum” and “Divinitas”
have given way, the dissonant and sinister tones of “Exhaurire” showcase
another aspect of the band’s sound. Truthfully, it is the faster and sharper
material that I gravitate towards here and there is no shortage of it; most
songs clock in between one and a half and four minutes with only a handful
extending this run time. This is an album
which sounds good- it’s clear and noisy/filthy at the same time. The post metal
aspects of the band’s sound can be heard on tracks like “Vulnera”, while
elsewhere the band bring weight as well as speed. If you like the idea
of blackened hardcore mixed with sludge and post metal elements, then this band
is exactly the kind of band you might see on one of the stages at Damnation
Festival that would rip the place apart. There is nothing wrong with this album
at all and it is as fine an example of the melding of genres as I can think of.
Vicious. “Aeternum”
is available HERE
By: Peter Morsellino Album
Type: Split Date
Released: 16/07/2021 Label:
Independent
“Split” CD//DD track listing:
1). Blunt Horse,“Nuke The Blow” 2). Blunt Horse, “Radiation Poisoning” 3). Blunt Horse, “No Reprise” 4). Grilth, “Foul Beast Head” 5). Grilth, “Crooked Back And Broken Spirit” The
Review: Washington DC/San Diego based Blunt Horseteams with Buffalo NY’s Grilthon their new split EP to
deliver a genre mashing head trip of epic proportions. These two groups complement each other
excellently, making for a superb listening experience for any listener with a
taste for sludge inspired grooves. Blunt
Horsecrashes
through the gate first with a fury of vintage riffing in “Nuke the Blow”. The pace is frantic to begin with, but
quickly falls into a leveled but energetic groove. Riffs are filled with psyched out prog
vibes. Guitar and bass tracks
intermingle with each other beautifully as an aggressive, yet dutiful rhythm
carries the beat throughout the songs ever escalating fever pitch. “Radiation Poisoning” offers the
briefest of interludes before “No Reprise” fills the listener’s head
with a continuation of the sonic assault.
“No Reprise” features a bit more of a varied sound than its
predecessor, with a hard soft dynamic carrying the song through the genre
hopping psychedelia of vintage tinged riffing and theatrical vocals. Next up comes Grilth, with trippy and
hypnotizing riffs enveloping the listener on “Foul Beast Ahead”. Heavy repetition with slight variation
encompasses the early minutes of the track, creating a mesmerizing experience
that really grips the listener. The mix
sits pretty with the band’s instruments all intermingling wonderfully with the
vocals. The second half of the track
takes on a more frantic pace while adopting the same elements of hypnotic
riffing. This formula holds true for Grilth’s second
offering, “Crooked Back and Broken Spirit”. Sludgy riffing dominates the sonic air, while
restrained grooves provide a thoughtful backdrop for the pained moans of the
vocals. Grilthand Blunt Horseprovide an excellent look
at opposite sides of the same coin on this EP.
Blunt Horsetaking their epic and
theatrical approach to the sludge genre while Grilithprovide a heavy as lead, trance inducing
stupor. It creates a listening
experience filled with long play dynamics that make for a very pleasant half hour
of heavy ass music for your listening pleasure.
I like to take this one in as a solid piece, which is not something that
always works out on a split EP. I
absolutely recommend it. “Split”
is available HERE
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