Mastiff – Plague (Review)

Mastiff - PlagueMastiff are a hardcore/sludge metal band from the UK and this is their second album.

Mastiff play the kind of pitch-black ugliness that I really like. Mixing styles and genres into an extreme metal mass of festering hatred and misery, Plague contains elements of doom, sludge, hardcore, and grindcore, all hatefully mixed together and vomited onto the listener with scorn and bile. Continue reading “Mastiff – Plague (Review)”

Yatra – Death Ritual (Review)

Yatra - Death RitualYatra are a doom band from the US and this is their debut album.

Now here we have an album that’s infused with darkness; it’s almost tangible, but in a warm, smoky way. Mixing ugly doom, riff-hungry stoner, blackened sludge, and harsh drone influences into 45 minutes of material, Death Ritual showcases the dark underbelly of doom metal. Continue reading “Yatra – Death Ritual (Review)”

Monthly Overview – the Best of November 2018

November was a strong month for metal. Both death metal and doom are well-represented below, but as we’ll see more than just those two genres produced some great records in the past month. November saw a strong showcase for UK talent too, as five of the below bands are all from this country. Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of November 2018”

Sadhus “The Smoking Community” – Big Fish (Review)

Sadhus The Smoking Community - Big FishThis is the second album from Sadhus “The Smoking Community”, a sludge metal band from Greece.

After enjoying their 2016 split with Agnes Vein, this is my first chance to get to grips with a Sadhus “The Smoking Community” full length album. Big Fish gives us 34 minutes of smoky heaviness and savage stoner doom sludge. Continue reading “Sadhus “The Smoking Community” – Big Fish (Review)”

Barbarian Hermit – Solitude and Savagery (Review)

Barbarian Hermit - Solitude and SavageryThis is the debut album from Barbarian Hermit, a stoner/sludge metal band from the UK.

With a thick, heavy sound, Barbarian Hermit explode out of the speakers with big riffs and a forceful presence. No messing around, no stupid intros, just straight into the good stuff. Just as I like it. Continue reading “Barbarian Hermit – Solitude and Savagery (Review)”