Mastiff – Leave Me the Ashes of the Earth (Review)

Mastiff - Leave Me the Ashes of the EarthMastiff are a hardcore/sludge metal band from the UK and this is their third album.

Following on from 2019’s well-received Plague, Leave Me the Ashes of the Earth contains 32 minutes of anger and violence. Continue reading “Mastiff – Leave Me the Ashes of the Earth (Review)”

71TONMAN – War Is Peace // Peace Is Slavery (Review)

71tonman - War Is Peace Peace Is SlaveryThis is the latest EP from Polish doom/sludge metallers 71TONMAN.

After enjoying 2013’s self-titled debut, and 2017’s much darker Earthwreck, I’m always interested in revisting the apocalyptic shores of 71TONMAN. Continue reading “71TONMAN – War Is Peace // Peace Is Slavery (Review)”

Urne – Serpent & Spirit (Review)

Urne - Serpent & SpiritUrne are a metal band from the UK and this is their debut album.

Urne combine a variety of influences onto their sound, resulting in an album of heaviness that’s crushing, while also taking the listener in an emotive journey. You can hear elements of bands like Mastodon, Opeth, Metallica, and Alice in Chains in Urne’s sound, but mostly you Continue reading “Urne – Serpent & Spirit (Review)”

Tarlung – Architect (Review)

Tarlung - ArchitectTarlung are an Austrian sludge band and this is their third album.

2017’s Beyond the Black Pyramid was an enjoyable slab of colossal doom sludge, with stoner influences keeping the darkness in check. On Architect, Tarlung spend 40 minutes tearing through heavy music that shares much in Continue reading “Tarlung – Architect (Review)”

Grief Collector – En Delirium (Review)

Grief Collector - En DeliriumThis is the debut album from US doom metallers Grief Collector.

Featuring Robert Lowe, (an ex-member of Candlemass), on vocals, En Delirium contains 48 minutes of largely traditional doom metal mixed with a touch of modern sludge, to produce a compelling piece of work. Continue reading “Grief Collector – En Delirium (Review)”

Eremit – Bearer of Many Names (Review)

Eremit - Bearer of Many NamesEremit are a doom/sludge band from Germany and this is their second album.

I loved 2019’s Carrier of Weight, and ever since I’ve been really excited every time I see that that band have unleashed more of their crushing doom on the world. Up until now, this has only consisted of 2020’s excellent, (though far too brief), EP Desert of Ghouls. Now, however, we get Bearer of Many Names, which is every bit as massive as the band’s debut album, although it’s resolutely not the same beast. Continue reading “Eremit – Bearer of Many Names (Review)”

Somnuri – Nefarious Wave (Review)

Somnuri - Nefarious RealmSomnuri are a sludge metal band from the US. and this is their second album.

Featuring an ex-member of Cleanteeth, Somnuri’s sound can best be described as something like progressive sludge metal. The promo blurb mentions bands such as High on Fire, Mastodon, Converge, Torche, and Baroness, and this sets the scene nicely. However, while all of the Continue reading “Somnuri – Nefarious Wave (Review)”