Tag: sludge
-
Year of the Cobra – …in the Shadows Below
Man, if I could get all the right documents and permits together, I’d move to Seattle in a heartbeat. It’s got a great food scene, my favourite football team, and some seriously heavy bands like Year of the Cobra, a husband/wife bass/drums stoner/doom duo, which just released its debut album on STB Records. Coming off…
-
Superjoint – Caught Up in the Gears of Application
Now, I’m not one of those people who worships the ground Phil Anselmo walks on. (Hell, I skipped Down to catch Beelzefuzz at Psycho Las Vegas.) And I don’t really remember Superjoint Ritual all that well—I couldda sworn I had a copy of Use Once and Destroy somewhere, but I can’t seem to find it.…
-
Wasted Theory – Defenders of the Riff
The heaviest damn band outta Bear, Delaware is back with its second record, with a nod to Judas Priest and an album cover that screams High on Fire. These guys pull no punches off the bat with “Get Loud or Get Fucked,” a solid southern-rock stomper. This song actually reminds me of the late, great,…
-
Lesbian – Hallucinogenisis
This Seattle post-sludge/black-metal outfit seemingly sees its shadow every three years, releasing albums in ’07, 2010, 2013 and now this, their fourth full-length, in 2016. I suppose epic tracks of this length take some time to germinate—the four songs on here span just under 46 minutes, with the shortest a shade under nine. “Pyramidal Existinctualism”…
-
Neurosis – Fires Within Fires
A new Neurosis record is always a noteworthy occasion, especially since they don’t come around all that often. Their last album, Honor Found in Decay, was released nearly four years ago to the day, and its predecessor, Given to the Rising, came out in ’07. But you can’t accuse this outfit of making the same…
-
Third Island – Dusk
Irish post-metal? Sign me up. The debut EP from Third Island takes listeners on a journey through the night of an insomniatic protagonist. Dusk is a wonderfully woeful concept album that uses sonic arrangements to portray the feelings and affects of the restless. Waking dreams, auditory hallucinations, and possible insanity come through as the album drives…
-
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…
-
Olde – Shallow Graves EP
Last year Toronto’s Olde won the hearts of millions with debut LP, I. OK, that’s a lie. But their sludgy doom was nonetheless impressive to say the least, beating as many grooves into your cauliflower-ed ears as were pressed onto the wax. To keep concussed brains aware of their presence before a 2017 LP on…
-
Beldam – Still the Wretched Linger
Richmond might have recently put Virginia on the map when it comes to downtuned doom, with outfits ranging from Cough to Inter Arma to Windhand, but the sludge seems to be seeping eastward to another college town an hour away. Beldam hails from Charlottesville, home of the Hoos, and their debut album is as gritty…
-
Fistula – Longing for Infection
It might surprise you that Cleveland was recently named the most metal city in America, but it’s always had a pretty solid sludge/hardcore scene. This gritty, edgy style of music can often be found in rough ‘n tumble towns—and having seen everyone from St. Vitus to Accept to Pentagram play places like the now-closed Peabody’s…