Tag: blackened sludge
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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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Deathcrawl – Acceptable Level of Misery
How much misery is too much? Cleveland sludge dealers Deathcrawl seem to have found a level that does not exceed the maximum on their third studio album, with eight tracks checking in just shy of 49 minutes. The album opens with a couple shorter songs, with “False Oracle” wasting little time getting into the downtuned…
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Norska – Too Many Winters
Though I didn’t review it at the time, I was definitely a fan of Norska’s self-titled 2011 debut, with the Portland five-piece landing somewhere between YOB and Neurosis on the post-sludge scale. As a matter of fact, their bassist has also played on the last three YOB albums… which might go some way in explaining…
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Serpent Crown – Incantations of Vengeance
Oakland certainly has no shortage of blackened, thrashy sludge bands, from the likes of High on Fire and Black Cobra going back to some of the pioneers of sludge and doom—Noothgrush, Neurosis, Sleep et al. This particular outfit, Serpent Crown, has been around since ’08, but they’ve completely flown under my radar until now, as…
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Black Shape of Nexus – Carrier
This German sludge sextet returns with Carrier, their first full-length since 2012’s oppressive 80-minute effort Negative Black. This one’s considerably less lengthy, but equally punishing, with six tracks clocking in just shy of 50 minutes. “I Can’t Play It” opens the album on an ominous note with tortured screams and squealing feedback. This one’s a…
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The Lion’s Daughter – Existence is Horror
I really dug this St. Louis outfit’s last record, A Black Sea, which came out late in 2013. But seeing as it was a collaborative effort with local folk band Indian Blanket, I’m definitely expecting some different sounds from The Lion’s Daughter this time around. What we get instead are 40 minutes of Midwest blackened…
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Grime – Circle of Molesters
As far as sludge bands go, Grime is aptly named. These Italians play a dirty, gritty blend of downtuned doom, taking the foundation that Eyehategod built, and making it even more unpleasant. Case in point: their sophomore album, which boasts a title even more offputting than its artwork. Curiously enough, the song titles seem more…
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Minsk – The Crash and the Draw
Y’know, I’m always a little leery when a 75-minute album comes up in my review queue. It takes a lot to capture my attention for such an extended period, and when you look at past precedent, well… Reign in Blood was 29 minutes long, Vol 4 was 43. Hell, Dopesmoker was 63 minutes, but that’s…
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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…
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Bastard of the Skies/Grimpen Mire split
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never heard either of these British bands before, though they’ve both been around for a handful of years. But that’s what’s great about splits—they’re a bite-sized introduction to acts otherwise unknown, without putting you through the paces of a 72-minute album or something. And while I’m not…