Tag: sludge
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Godstopper – Children Are Our Future
A few months ago, a friend of mine told me that Godstopper was the best band going in Toronto. Now, I don’t know about that per se – I actually like my friend’s band (Harangue) better, but that’s a matter of taste. Maybe I’m too conventional. “Conventional” is something Godstopper certainly is not and neither…
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North – Metanoia EP
North is a Tuscon trio that is pretty tight with Godhunter—about the only other Arizona sludge band I know—which is reason enough for me to give this a listen. Yet these guys are grizzled veterans, as the length of their beards would attest, with three albums already under their belts. While Metanoia is more of…
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Lord Mantis – Death Mask
I namedropped the new Lord Mantis record in my Coffinworm review, so I figured I should probably say a few words about it. Oppressive, abrasive, blacked sludge. There. Oh, so you were expecting more than a few words? Opener “Body Choke” sounds like Neurosis set to super-slow-mo, a disturbing dash of death-doom that’ll haunt you in your dreams. The title…
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EyeHateGod – EyeHateGod
Not gonna lie, this was my most-anticipated album of the year. And it’s certainly been a long time coming—the last time we heard from EyeHateGod was the odds-and-ends comp Preaching the End-Time Message waaaaaay back in ’05. They did put out a live DVD a couple years back (fun fact: I missed being in it by a day!), but in…
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The Body/Thou – Released from Love
This is not a split. Rather this EP is a collaborative effort between the voluminous Portland duo The Body and the caustic NOLA sludgesters Thou, with all members of both bands playing on each track. Y’know, kinda like that thing Lion’s Daughter did a little while back…minus the neo-folk leanings, I presume. Side A opens with the…
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Stoneburner – Life Drawing
Stoneburner is yet another act amongst the multitude of sludge bands oozing outta Portland, so expect the inevitable comparisons to YOB and Witch Mountain. Oh, and Neurosis, who signed these guys to their label, Neurot. Did I mention that this album’s 66.5 minutes long? It’s giving off a Neurosian vibe already… It’s not long before…
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Black Tar Prophet – Deafen
Now, when a band names an album Deafen, you can probably expect it to be loud. But this Nashville instro duo, Black Tar Prophet, is a bass-drums outfit, so you don’t get the screeching, feedbacking guitars that lead to tinnitus here. Trust me on that one… Opening track “Dethroned” reminds me of The Body, as the bass is…
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Taurus – No/Thing
Life, the debut from Portland doom duo Taurus, consisted of two 15+ minute tracks: “Life Pt. 1” and “Life Pt. 2.” No/Thing, their sophomore effort, has five songs, and things are slightly more structured this time around. Song lengths, for the most part, are shorter than the debut — though several still exceed 10 minutes.…
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Hark – Crystalline
Hark, here be another band with a Clutch connection. Frontman Jimbob Isaaac has done artwork for ’em, along with the likes of Red Fang, Kvelertak and Orange Goblin. In fact, Neil Fallon even makes a cameo on the last track on this album, so there’s that to look forward to. This Welsh trio’s debut begins with “Palendromeda,”…
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Prizehog – Re-Unvent the Whool
Not gonna lie, my first reaction to Prizehog (aside from noting the intentionally bad spelling) was to think of 90s one-hit wonders Spacehog. Apparently, those guys are still touring. Say whaaaa!? However, this Portland trio isn’t living in the meantime, but rather in the present. This is, in fact, their fifth album, though I can’t…