Author: Gruesome Greg
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High on Fire – Lumniferous
Y’know, I kinda wish I hadn’t read that interview with Matt Pike where he says this album’s about saving The Illuminati from aliens before I heard Lumniferous. Evidently, the dude dropped out of life with bong in hand a long time ago. But High on Fire, they still bring it, maaaaaan… This record comes growling…
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Opium Lord – The Calendrical Cycle: Eye of Earth
Can’t say I’m too familiar with Opium Lord, a UK sludge outfit, but they’re coming to Toronto with Primitive Man on July 17, which is reason enough for me to check out their debut album here. The Calendrical Cycle: Eye of Earth opens right off the bat with the type of down-tuned riffage that instantly…
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Khemmis – Absolution
After Colorado legalized marijuana, it was only a matter of time before we started hearing about new buzz bands from the Denver stoner scene. I’m not saying the two things are related… but let’s face it, Vancouver has by far the most sludge bands per capita of any city in Canada. Drugs ‘n sludge are…
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King Giant – Black Ocean Waves
King Giant’s previous album, Dismal Hollow, was more of a grower than a shower for me, but by the time I saw ’em live in Milwaukee last summer, I was fully a fan. Though they hail from the D.C. area, you couldn’t call ’em a band of Pentagram worshippers. File under doom, perhaps, but if…
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Fight Amp – Constantly Off
I figure I’m somewhat familiar with Fight Amp at this juncture. They’ve found their way to the bottom of a coupla sludge-metal touring packages that have hit Toronto—albeit not in the past couple years. The Philly-area outfit is known for its Neurosis-inspired post-sludge and complete lack of stage lighting that makes them hard to see…
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AMATEUR CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY HOUR: OM, Melvins, Crowbar, June 19-23, 2015
I must admit, I’m not as big into NXNE as I used to be. I just don’t have the stamina anymore to stay up till 3 am 3-4 nights in a row, running from venue to venue in search of heavy music. These days, I only do NXNE when there’s someone I really wanna see…and…
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Denizen – Troubled Waters
I was a big fan of this French outfit’s second album, Whispering Wild Stories, which came out over four years ago, back in 2011. Their sound melds the stoner grooves of Fu Manchu with some harsh sludge vocals reminiscent of Eyehategod—and while it sounds like an odd combo at first, it actually works quite nicely. Those…
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Demon Lung – A Dracula
I’ve always loved the idea behind Demon Lung. Here you’ve got this Satanic, occult doom metal band… based outta Las Vegas. Hey, I’ve been to Vegas, and there’s nothing about that city that screams “occult doom metal.” (Now, if they were a mafia-themed doom band, on the other hand…) That said, if this outfit was…
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Kings Destroy – self-titled
I’ve been a big Kings Destroy fan ever since I saw ’em at Days of the Doomed III in Milwaukee a couple years back. Their second album, A Time of Hunting, cracked my year-end Top 10 in 2013, and I have high hopes for their follow-up effort. The band brings the melodic doom, similar to…
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Goatsnake – Black Age Blues
While the Facebook group “1 MILLION GOATSNAKE FANS PLEADING FOR A NEW ALBUM/TOUR” never got much more than a thousand members… they did get their wish with this, the first Goatsnake full-length in 15 years. Some might know them mainly as the band with that guy from Sunn O)))) and Southern Lord, but back at…