Category: Reviews
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No Joy / Sonic Boom – s/t EP (12″ coloured vinyl)
Ever had one of those moments when you heard or read about a new musical project from a couple of established musicians, got excited as your imagination began to run wild with the possibilities of what may come from the endeavor, and then learned that you couldn’t have been more right when you got a…
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Fucked and Bound – Suffrage LP
Full disclosure: on my first play through Suffrage, I accidentally had my turntable set to the incorrect speed. Because of that, my first judgement was that the band’s sound was thick, dark, sludgy and imposing – but it definitely piqued my interest and curiosity. I was fascinated by the hulking, demonic voice which dominated the…
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Art Bergmann – The Apostate LP
In Canada (which, let’s face it, is a country packed with musicians who are underrated on the international stage), there is simply no musician more criminally underrated and under-appreciated than Art Bergmann. Since first appearing on the Vancouver punk and indie rock scenes in the eighties, Bergmann has regularly had to fight to get popular…
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Body Void – I Live Inside a Burning House
Generally speaking, sludge metal is not about good times or made by happy people. While depression, divorce and drug addiction have previously inspired other sludge albums, Body Void is the first time I’ve seen a band tackle the topic of queer identity via heavy, crushing, knuckle-dragging doom. I kinda wish this promo came with a…
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Wrong – Feel Great
When a noise-rock record is called Feel Great, you know it’s probably being used ironically. The sophomore effort from this Florida outfit offers little in the way of positive vibes or uplifting feelings throughout its 11-track, 30-minute runtime. “Errordome” kicks off this effort with some chunky, gurgling slowcore à la Unsane, throwing in a few…
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Tunguska Mammoth – Breathless
Combining a large prehistoric beast with the site of a massive natural explosion makes for quite a powerful moniker; in the case of Montreal’s Tunguska Mammoth, their heavy stoner/sludge sound lives up to it. Their Deathbound Records debut offers eight tracks in just shy of 46 minutes, and leaves a few extinct creatures in its…
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Conan/Slomatics split (reissue)
Before Conan became the next big thing in volume-shattering sludge, they collaborated with their countrymen Slomatics on this six-song split. First released in 2011, this record was recently reissued on vinyl by Black Bow Records. I dunno guy, but 180-gram might not be heavy enough… Conan takes three tracks on Side A, although the second…
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CHRCH – Light Will Consume Us All
Neurot Records does well in finding bands aligned with the vision of its founders, the mighty Neurosis—and this California outfit is no exception. The second album from Sacramento quintet CHRCH (the u is not only silent, but invisible?) features just three tracks spanning 45 minutes. Suffice to say, there are a few lengthy post-sludge epics…
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Primordial – Exile Amongst the Ruins
There was a time when Primordial could release an album and, for me, it would almost instantly be an album-of-the-year contender. Their material in the early 2000s established them as elite, especially the now-legendary album To the Nameless Dead (2007). That being said, the 2010s haven’t done much to shake these Irish stalwarts’ legacy. And…
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Iron Reagan/Gatecreeper split
This is not the split album that we necessarily need – but it is certainly the one we deserve. Split albums are usually pretty fun, especially when two bands of like mind come together and create something that might not be viable on a full release. In this case, it seems like a casserole baked by…