Sludge – Page 64 – Wonderbox Metal

Moanaa – Descent (Review)

Moanaa are an Atmospheric Sludge Metal band from Poland and this is their début album.

This is an interesting and multi-faceted release that combines elements of Sludge, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal together into an overarching framework of Atmospheric Sludge lasting just under 60 minutes.

Soft acoustics and Post-Metal melodies clash with harsh Sludge and Progressive workouts. Heavy riffs and ethereal melodies create soundscapes that merge the best of both. This is a richly textured and layered album and the songs have a lot of depth and dark energy. Even when the tempo drops there’s a brooding undercurrent of repressed power and understated grandeur.

The vocals snarl and gnash their way through the songs. Ugly, vicious and essentially Death Metal in style, they’re juxtaposed against cleaner vocals nicely, in the same way that the music trades brutality with transcendence, darkness with light. There’s a lot of shading here though and the vocals pretty much run the whole spectrum from ethereal cleans to deep growls and everything in the middle.

The playing is tight and the recording perfectly judged. The album sounds great in every way.

I love albums like this. Quality songwriting and flawless execution combine to result in an album that’s an engaging journey and a real treat for anyone into atmospheric music, be that Sludge, Doom or Post-Metal.

Loved it.

Khemmis – Absolution (Review)

Khemmis are a US Doom Metal band and this is their début album.

Now this is an interesting release. The album cover might lead you to believe that Khemmis are a Traditional Doom Metal band, and although this is certainly a big part of their sound there’s also more going on here than that.

Khemmis combine Traditional Doom Metal with Sludge Metal. This is not a common thing to do and it works much better than you might think.

What does this mean in real terms? Well, it means the ancient Traditional Doom approach is melded together with a heavier, Sludgier sound that’s partially one and partially the other. Imagine a cross between 40 Watt Sun and a cleaner version of Primitive Man.

The vocals also display this duality of Doom purpose; dreamy, traditional clean vocals are occasionally supplemented with deeper growls that seem like they’re about to tear the Earth apart with their ferocity.

I love the way the band manage to take the clean Doom Metal sound, mix it with the dirty Sludge style and come up with a winning combination of the two. This is usually within the same song too. Southern-inspired riffs share space with heavenly cleans, (the singer has a top quality voice), before descending into the pit once more and the Deathgrowls rule the roost for a while.

This is an album that cries out for repeated spins, and repeated spins it gets. In addition to its obvious charms there’s a lot of hidden gold on Absolution.

Extremely highly recommended.

Coffins – Craving to Eternal Slumber (Review)

Coffins are a Death Metal band from Japan and this is their latest EP.

This cult band have returned once more with another 30 minutes of Doom-infused Death Metal that’s pretty much essential listening for anyone who likes their Death Metal grim, Sludgy and heavy as Hell.

Their prolific nature means they already have a number of releases under their belts since 2013’s The Fleshland, and on this new one they continue to refine the style that has made them so revered in Death Metal circles.

Their formula is straightforward enough – take the rotting core of Death Metal, add a Doom/Sludge influence and play everything as heavy as possible. Simple! What they excel in most though is not just this in isolation, but rather the fact that they manage to imbue everything they do with such a nasty, gritty evilness that the music comes alive in malevolent raptures.

The vocals are still as pitch-black as midnight and growl their way from underneath the songs like an ominous shape rising through the waters. The singer has what can only be described as a great Death Metal voice.

Coffins seem to manage to concurrently embody the essence of Death Metal and Doom; Craving to Eternal Slumber lives in both worlds and masters both of them too.

This is a must.

Palinopsia – Murmurs From the Well Nothing More (Review)

This is the début EP from US Sludge Metal band Palinopsia.

This is dirty great Sludge with a Blackened Doom component and a Hardcore backbone.

The scathing, acidic vocals sound utterly inhuman and are frequently layered upon each other, screaming and shouting for all they’re worth.

The recording is extremely heavy, making the most of Palinopsia’s ugly, downtuned sound. It’s unpolished and teeming with viral life, seemingly writhing with diseased lustre.

Southern Sludge riffs mix with a Blackened influence to result in venomous songs that don’t have any pure intentions at all. The Hardcore backbone of the band gives them an upbeat edge that is as sharp as any blade.

The Black Metal influence works as an undercurrent to each song, spreading darkness as it works deep into the marrow of the guitars. The Hardcore elements allow the band to speed up on occasion, as if the attack hounds are being unleashed once more. All of this is tethered by a swampy Sludge presence that’s as big as it is bold.

They’re not without subtlety or introspection though. It’s not an obvious part of their sound and it doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally the distortion fades and they offer some light along with the shade. It’s a welcome enhancement to their music and when the guitars roar up again it sounds heavier than ever.

This kind of nasty Sludge is always an enjoyable hate-fest. Turn up the volume and tear down the house.

Angakok – Angakok (Review)

Angakok are a Sludge band from Belgium, and this is their début album.

Angakok play Sludge/Doom mixed with moments of Drone/Ambient respite.

This is Neurosis-inspired Doom that’s nicely heavy when it needs to be. Mix the Neurosis influence with that of, say, Zatokrev and you have an album that, (slowly), stomps over everything around it.

The Ambient and lighter moments give the album some shading, but the heavier side of the band is the main event; these asides are essentially delaying the heaviness so that when it returns it sounds even more immense.

The music really takes Doom to its black heart; the heavy guitars are slow and crushing, although they do pick up the pace when necessary. There are some good, winding melodies used on these songs and the mood of despondency and bleakness never ends.

The songs are darkly enjoyable, and it’s a collection of tracks that make for a engaging journey with the band.

The vocals are anguished, drawn-out screams, not dissimilar to those used in Neurosis. The style sounds a natural fit with the Sludgy guitars and the performance is not one to find fault with.

The album is well-recorded and seems to be able to be both murky and clear at the same time. It suits the band’s style and the music benefits from it.

I enjoy music like this, especially from a band like Angakok as they clearly know the genre inside out.

Check them out.

Interview with Ilsa

Ilsa are one of the best Sludge Metal bands out there. After the electrifying Intoxicantations and now their crushing new album The Felon’s Claw, I’ve been privileged to fire some questions at their drummer, Joshy…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

Ilsa is comprised of five people: Orion is the vocalist, Joshy (me) plays drums, Tim plays guitar, Brendan also plays guitar, and Sharad plays bass guitar.

Give us a bit of history to Ilsa

We formed in early 2008 after the guitar player in our former band tried to punch somebody on the other side of a window that happened to be closed. After that, due to a lack of connected tendons in his arm he couldn’t play guitar, and we started Ilsa as a way to take up time while he recuperated. Obviously Ilsa ended up being the main band for us after that.

What are your influences?

Musically I’d say our influences are Bolt Thrower, Amebix, Asphyx, Townes Van Zandt, Dead Moon, Morbid Angel, Burning Witch, The Plasmatics, Thin Lizzy, a bunch of other stuff.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

At this very moment I am listening to Pink Floyd, I would recommend them very highly. Other stuff I’ve been into lately would be Alan Parsons project, Primitive Man, Forn, honestly I listen to a bunch of really lame shit like Air Supply and Chicago and things like that. I’ve really been into Eddie Hazel lately, I think he’s a really underrated guitarist. Oh and the Saga demos from Iron Age are amazing!

What did you want to achieve with your new album?

I wanted to make the heaviest most thought provoking yet lunkheaded album ever recorded.

How do you go about writing the songs?

Generally I write songs in my basement and record them on my computer, then bring them to practice and show everybody and we go from there. Or somebody will bring some riffs to practice and we’ll work with them and build them there. I personally write much better when I’m by myself in my little dungeon

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

Well Orion would be the best at explaining the lyrics, but I can say that one goal that he has always had was to think of our songs as spells and our concerts as rituals. I don’t personally believe in mystical or supernatural powers, but I think that if words were capable of any tangible power like you would find in a ritualistic setting then it would be the veracity behind them that produced it. In that sense, I feel like our songs would have more power than you would find at any church.

What is your favourite song on the album and why?

I think my favorite is Buried In the Bedrock and Concrete of Our Cities, because I think it’s the most successful in my attempts to make a song that has memorable, heavy, and simple riffs.

What do you feel the main differences are between Intoxicantations and The Felon’s Claw – how have you changed between the two releases?

I don’t think there’s a ton different between the two, except I think this one is more focused. I think we were able to approach the idea of making music that is as stripped down as we could make it while still retaining a certain amount of brutality and heaviness in a way that we hadn’t been able to before.

Are you happy with how the album turned out?

I’m very happy with it. It’s my favorite album yet. Of course there are always things you wish you could have changed or tweaked in retrospect, but there are way fewer of those things on this album than any before it.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

Like I mentioned before, the goal for me is to make songs that are as simple and basic as they can be without being boring. I think there are few things that sound as good as a heavy guitar with a solid, driving beat behind it to bang your head to. That’s really all I’m personally trying to do with Ilsa. The other guys may have different goals, but so far whatever our individual ideas are they seem to all be reachable by the same approach, so that’s good.

What’s next for Ilsa?

We’ve got a couple of splits coming out, one with the awesome Japanese death/doom band Coffins, and one with the Hardcore/D-beat band Greta. There’s another split that could possibly happen, but it’s too early to talk about at this point. If it does work out, it could possibly be the heaviest split ever released! We’ve got a few local shows coming up, and we will be playing at Don’t Call it a Fest in Detroit this year with Eyehategod, In Cold Blood, Noisem, and a bunch of others.

Allfather – No Gods. No Masters. (Review)

Allfather are from the UK and this is their début release of Hardcore/Sludge.

Allfather seem to have cornered the market on Punked-up Metallic discontent. They’re pissed off and have come to put the boot in, big style.

This is underground and raw; music that’s ready for a scrap and happy to get its hands dirty.

The songs on this short EP are tight balls of fury with guitars that fall halfway between murky Sludge Metal and Hardcore anger. Energetic and heavy riffs make up the bulk of this release and there’s no let up in the 11 minutes playing time.

Allfather do heavy very well, but they also write actual songs; these tracks have a good flow to them and are quite catchy and memorable. This is not heaviness just for the sake of it; this music is focused and directed so that the compositions have meaning and purpose.

An enjoyable and promising EP. The UK seems to excel at this kind of dirty, gritty Metal. More please.

A cross between elements of Crowbar, Gutworm, dBh, Raging Speedhorn, Labrat and the like.

No Trust – The Cycle (Review)

This is the latest EP from US Metallers No Trust.

We know No Trust from their début album Unfound, so it’s good to catch up with their latest offering.

I stand by my previous statements about this band – they’re still huge worshippers of The Riff and still come across as a blending of Dopethrone and Chimaira.

The singer’s raspy roar is back once more and continues to provide very satisfying vocals for the unfolding Metallic carnage. His voice works even closer with the music on this EP to produce songs that gel together nicely.

The guitars seem to buzz and rage through the playing time with that interesting combination of Sludge and Modern Metal that they play so well. The production emphasizes the Metal side of the equation, but the Sludge quality is brought out in the music from some choice riffing and the singer’s acidic snarl.

The songs are more developed this time around and the time between releases seems to have been well spent; overall, No Trust sound more confident and professional than ever.

Well, I’m very happy with this. A 31 minute blast of quality Metal is never to be turned down.

Give them a listen and prepare to unleash the fury.

Ilsa – The Felon’s Claw (Review)

Ilsa are a Sludge Metal band from the US, and this is their fourth album.

I’m a huge fan of Ilsa’s last album Intoxicantations. It’s such an excellent album with an immense sound that it’s been a firm favourite of mine since I first reviewed it. To say I was excited when this new release popped into my inbox was an understatement.

This is filthy, unpleasant music that only true Metal fans could like. It’s horrendously ugly and disgustingly depraved and we fucking love it that way. Ilsa are masters of their formidable blend of Sludge, Doom, Crust and Punk.

They retain their heavier-than-Hell sound and it’s great to hear them just crash into the first track Oubliette without any preamble.

The vocals are still snarling, vicious beasts that seem to rend and tear their way through the playing time. This attitude is apparent from the very first rabid bark and the intensity is kept up throughout all 48 minutes.

Once more, each song has its own identity and character. This is a complete album, holistically, but like Intoxicantations, The Felon’s Claw is made up of individually identifiable songs. So many bands are incapable of this, for some reason, so it’s great when you can put an album on randomly and it’s easy to identify what song is playing and where it sits in the running order. After a few spins, of course.

On this new release Ilsa sound a bit slower and groovier than their last outing. They still step up the speed on occasion, but overall the Doom/Sludge side of their sound is more prevalent. With riffs that could capsize ocean liners, Ilsa populate their disgusting landscape with ugly landmarks that you can’t help but stare at in wonder.

Well, I’m extremely pleased with what the band have produced here. Ilsa have not disappointed.

There’s no reason, none whatsoever, for you to not get this.

Nightslug – Loathe (Review)

Nightslug are a German Sludge band and this is their second album.

Nightslug sound as their name suggests – ponderous and heavy. This is discordant, ugly Sludge that grips you by their hair and forces your face into the vomit. This, of course, is something you like. So eat it all up. Eat it now.

The songs have a good groovy swagger and the guitars steal the show with their cocky bravado and murky heaviness. The vocals shouldn’t be discounted, however, as they sound like the aural equivalent of an acid splash to the face.

The bass makes its presence felt like a steel girder that props everything up and works with the guitars to create a solid and crushing foundation for the songs to destroy everything around them.

Feedback, distortion and an overall dirty, grim aesthetic is par for the course with Sludge but Nightslug do it with style. They have a slightly unusual sound in their guitar tone and the way the vocals are mixed. It works exceedingly well though, and gives them a distinctive flavour. It reminds me of, (although sounds different from), the production of Rabies Caste’s début album Let the Soul Out and Cut the Vein, which also had an atypical sound. Like Rabies Caste though, they have taken the Sludge template as handed down by Eyehategod and made it firmly their own.

Also like Rabies Caste, Nightslug specialise in songs that are incredibly catchy and memorable. Certainly not in a radio-friendly way, of course, but these are riffs and tunes that stick in the head like an infected nail. It’s painful, but a twisted stroke of master workmen and the Sludge Gods should be proud of them.

I love a good Sludge band and Loathe will be firmly a part of my playlists for some time to come.

This is one you must check out.

Favourite Track: Vile Pigs. With a main riff that just won’t quit, this song is as catchy as Hell.