Tag: sludge metal
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GRUESOME GREG’S TOP 15 CONCERTS OF 2019
Gruesome Greg looks back on some of the best shows he shot in 2019.
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Dopethrone – Transcanadian Anger
They may be named after an Electric Wizard record, but I’ve always found Dopethrone to be more like Canada’s answer to Bongzilla, with heavy, hazy riffs and drug references abound on their fifth full-length album. Transcanadian Anger kicks off with a fuzzy rumble on “Planet Meth,” a downtuned, downtrodden stomp with shades of EHG. The…
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Ape Vermin – Sonic Monolith
Sonic Monolith is an impressive debut for a band that only formed last year. It’s a band that have a built in audience with their Sabbath-meets-Conan sludge metal. The album also has a concept, that of higher beings attempting to repopulate the galaxy with a new species of ape… as you do! Well, it could…
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Horehound – Holocene
Pittsburgh has been a pretty solid, low-key player on the doom scene ever since Dream Death first coined the term “sludge metal” by blending doom and thrash in the 80’s. Continuing the tradition of bands like Penance, Argus and Brimstone Coven, Horehound is currently shopping its second album, Holoscene, to like-minded labels. This six-track, 44-minute…
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Weed Demon – Astrological Passages
Now, I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but when the band’s name is Weed Demon, their logo looks like a pot leaf, and they’ve got some crazy spaceship action happening on the record sleeve…it’s gonna be pretty hard for me NOT to dig it. This Columbus crew’s debut has just…
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Fister – No Spirit Within
Anywhere there’s high levels of violence and poverty, sludge metal often isn’t far behind. Listed as the Number 4 Murder Capital of America, ahead of Baltimore, Detroit and Compton, St. Louis definitely fits the bill (the suburb of East St. Louis is actually Number 1), and its native sons Fister display plenty of downtrodden aggression…
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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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Ether – There is Nothing Left for Me Here
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Florida man gets divorced, writes sludge-metal record. OK, so maybe that headline didn’t make the news. While divorce and separation have inspired countless classic country cuts, I think this second effort from Florida outfit Ether might be a first—the only sludge album dealing with marital breakdown. And…
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The Ditch and the Delta – Hives in Decline
The good thing about being from a town that’s a bit off the metal radar is that it’s harder to lump you in with a buncha other bands. Even if I’ve never heard a particular group before, I have a general idea what to expect when I see a doom band from Maryland or a…
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Mountain of Wizard – Casting Rhythms and Disturbances
This NOLA quartet, Mountain of Wizard, is best known for having the drummer who replaced Joey LaCaze in Eyehategod. Unlike some other outfits from the area, they aren’t really known nationally… at least not yet. And they’re not really your standard sludge-metal outfit, either. For one thing, this album is entirely instrumental, featuring some up-tempo…