Author: Gruesome Greg
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MAKING OF A SLUDGE METAL SOLO ALBUM – Step Two: Learn to Scream
Melissa Cross’ reputation definitely precedes her. When it comes to instructional videos on metal vocals, hers was the first–and only–one that came to mind. But after watching The Zen of Screaming, I found myself agreeing with a few of the not-so-positive reviews on Amazon…
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Rwake – Xenoglossalgia (The Last Stage of Awareness)
I don’t deny that I dig Rwake’s later stuff—pretty sure Rest cracked my year-end Top 10 in 2011—but I must admit I’d never heard their ’98 debut before… which was, after all, an extremely limited, independent EP. They raised a few red flags in the liner notes when, by their own admission, they mention “This…
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Brothers of the Sonic Cloth – self-titled
One of the most highly hyped stoner/doom debuts of recent months, this Seattle trio features Tad Doyle, he of the second-tier grunge band bearing his first name, and have been kicking around their local scene for several years—their only previous recording is a split dating back to ’09. Suffice to say this project might not…
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Cowards – Rise to Infamy
France is pretty much the last place that comes to mind when you think of sludge metal. But that’s not to say Paris doesn’t have its share of unrest—they still shoot cartoonists there, after all. And let’s not forget that Louisiana was once a French colony… although I’m pretty sure that Mike IX and Kirk…
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MAKING OF A SLUDGE METAL SOLO ALBUM – Step One: Write Lyrics
I’ve been toying with the idea of making an autobiographical solo album for a few years now…I just had to hit rock bottom first. The source material has always been inside of me, but it took a series of unfortunate events toward the end of last year to finally start drawing it out.
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Primitive Man – Home is Where the Hatred is
One needs not listen to a note of this EP to know that it’s gonna be bleak—the artwork is about *thisclose* to getting Relapse charged with supporting terrorism under the Patriot Act. And certainly, the band’s reputation precedes them, Primitive Man being known for downtuned, punishing sludge tunes and terrifying horror-movie music videos. And while…
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Torche – Restarter
Haven’t seen or heard from Torche in a little while—their last album came out in 2012—but a new album means an excuse to tour, which makes Restarter a worthy release even without hearing a note. Few bands bring it live like these guys anymore, especially at the club level. No fancy pyros or elaborate stage props,…
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Witchrider – Unmountable Stairs
Not gonna lie, when I see a self-professed stoner/occult rock outfit with the word Witch in its name, I kinda cringe a little (notable exception: Witch Mountain). And if we’re judging an album by its cover, then I hope this trio doesn’t sound as tacky as their artwork looks. But hey, what with the dearth…
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Fuck you Facebook, Gruesome Greg IS my everyday name!
Over the past few weeks, many of my Facebook friends within the metal community were switching from their stage names to actual last names. But for me, when the axe came down, I thought I’d be clever and change my name to Grégoire Grousomme. And hey, it worked…for about 3 days.
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Lord Dying – Poisoned Altars
Lord Dying’s 2013 debut, Summon the Faithless, kinda caught me by surprise. Hey, it’s not every day that a relatively unknown band outta Portland issues its debut album on Relapse. But it’s grown on me over time, and translated well to the live setting when I caught ‘em in a shitty Tex-Mex bar on tour…