This is the debut album from UK sludge doom band Existence Dysphoria.
Minus Negative contains 31 minutes of unfriendly sludge doom. It’s a mix of caustic sludge and crushing doom, combined with elements of stoner and progressive rock. Continue reading “Existence Dysphoria – Minus Negative (Review)”
This is a split between two US doom/sludge bands, Veilcaste and Tusk.
Each band contribute 3 songs, and Veilcaste open the split with 14 minutes of material. Continue reading “Veilcaste/Tusk – Split (Review)”
Subterraen are a French sludge/doom band and this is their debut album.
When the promo blurb states that Rotten Human Kingdom is for fans of bands like Eremit, Jupiterian, Lurk, Eyehategod, Neurosis, 71TONMAN, Conan, and Primitive Man, you know you have to check it out. You won’t be disappointed, either. Far from it, in fact. Continue reading “Subterraen – Rotten Human Kingdom (Review)”
This is the second album from Hymn, a Norwegian doom/sludge metal band.
Hymn play a mix of doom and sludge, and Breach Us contains 38 minutes of music divided into 4 tracks. The band is made up of only two members, but you wouldn’t necessarily realise this immediately as Breach Us sounds massive. Continue reading “Hymn – Breach Us (Review)”
This is the second album from Spanish doom/heavy metallers Totengott.
This immense album is a hard one to describe with genre tags. It’s a mix of doom and thrash/heavy metal, but with elements of black, death, and progressive metal added in too, (as well as forays into dark ambient waters). The promo blurb mentions Continue reading “Totengott – The Abyss (Review)”
Bismarck are a doom metal band from Norway and this is their debut album.
Here we have 35 minutes of doom metal that incorporates quite a few different sub-styles into its melting pot. Drawing on influences from stoner, doom, drone, progressive, sludge, psychedelic, and post-metal, Urkraft is a well-rounded and satisfying slab of heaviness. Continue reading “Bismarck – Urkraft (Review)”
This is a split between two sludge/doom bands – Mares of Diomedes from Ireland and Dreich from Denmark.
Mares of Diomedes start us off with two songs of bastard-heavy metal, lasting 13 minutes.
This is fuzzed-up and harsh, with colossal riffs drenched in distortion being unleashed like they are going out of fashion. With Continue reading “Mares of Diomedes/Dreich – Split (Review)”
This is the debut release from Kalloused, a UK blackened sludge/doom band.
Kalloused have a powerfully heavy sound that they still manage to insert nuance into when the need arises. This release features a plethora of textured riffs that manage to show a certain degree of subtlety and finesse even when they’re smashing your skull in.
The band have a black metal element Continue reading “Kalloused – Damn You Believer (Review)”
Swamp Witch are a doom/sludge band from the US. This is their debut album.
Sludge heaviness mixes with psychedelic hypnotic grooves to create slow, torturous music that takes the listener on a tour through forgotten swamps, populated by hideous witches, (do you see what I did there?).
Deep growled vocals act as a guide on this foul journey, paving a path through the murk with sheer force of diseased will. Continue reading “Swamp Witch – The Slithering Bog (Review)”
Boss Keloid are a Sludge Metal band from the UK. This is their second album.
Boss Keloid’s Sludge fuses Metal, Doom, Stoner and even Progressive Metal and Grunge into its tar-like embrace, offering the listener 59 minutes of compelling riffage.
With a huge, massive sound, Boss Keloid bring the heaviness with ease. The songs are chock-full of tasty riffs and the kind of guitars that can knock you over if played at full volume.
The Stoner-esque vocals sound really good, adding an extra level of colour and richness to already textured music. The singer has commanding presence, great personality and charisma, all of which are clearly felt through his voice.
The songs themselves are very satisfying, all the more so due to the decent amount of variety and interest that the album has. With almost an hour of music it would be easy to lose momentum or have some dull moments, but the incorporation of the various Metal sub-genres into the mix makes for a very endearing and engaging album.
Unlike some bands that use multiple styles as parts of their musical recipe, Boss Keloid don’t move from one easily identified sub-genre in one section to another; the band mix all of these elements into the songs together, holistically making the most of these influences to the betterment of the songs and the album as a whole.
Each track is recognisable as its own beast with its own identity, and pretty much every track has elements of the wider pool of influences mixed in.
An extremely impressive album. Herb Your Enthusiasm is a keeper.
For fans of Conan, Electric Wizard, Mammoth Storm, Orange Goblin, Down, etc.
Wonderbox Metal 