Sludge – Page 67 – Wonderbox Metal

Inter Arma – The Cavern (Review)

Inter Arma are from the US and this is their latest EP. Although calling it an EP is a bit of a stretch; at almost 46 minutes it’s pretty much an album.

Oh and did I mention that the entire running time is comprised of just one track? No? Well I have now.

I’ve not heard Inter Arma before, although I’m aware of them by reputation, so this is something that I was eager to listen to.

It starts off gently, with almost 3 minutes of soft, acoustic sounds, before the heavy guitars hammer down like Thor’s own wrath. Inter Arma play a highly talented form of Sludge/Post-Metal/Doom Metal. Ultimately it’s a Doom behemoth that takes in a variety of different genres and subgenres throughout the length of the song.

The Cavern is a very involving and captivating listen that has been masterfully put together with lots of thought to the weaving of the different elements into a complete tapestry of sounds.

Vocally, we get pretty much everything; cleans, semi-cleans, shouts, screams, growls; it’s all present and correct.

The song transitions through various phases and it’s complex and endearing. The band have invited a plethora of different guests onto the EP which only enhances the feeling of something truly special unfolding in front of your very ears. The guests all add something different, (female vocals, violins, synths), and their contribution is valued and integral.

The pacing and dynamics of this song are just astounding. This is the kind of Progressive Metal masterpiece that you always wanted Isis, Neurosis or Cult of Luna to do.

As the song progresses it takes in all available moods, from slow and despondent to psychedelic and expansive, to subtle and coy, to raging and tumultuous. This is an incredibly detailed journey into foreign soundscapes and as tour guides extraordinaire Inter Arma are well placed to blow your mind with their shockingly good display of songwriting. The performance and musicianship is flawless too.

Inter Arma take the Post-Metal template of the masters, (Isis/Neurosis/Cult of Luna), combine it with the extra-dimensional quality of Mastodon, layer it all in their own unique personality, add lots of individual flourishes and quirks and serve up scalding hot; The Cavern is here and it’s a delicious treat.

Stunning.

Baptists – Bloodmines (Review)

Baptists are from Canada and this is their second album. They play Hardcore.

The band combine violent Hardcore, abrasive Punk and Noise Rock into just over 25 minutes of emotive music.

The vocals are savage and raw, perfectly capturing the intensity and feeling that Baptists wish to convey.

Bloodmines is drenched in feedback, so much so it’s sometimes like listening to Sludge sped up and fed through the Punk grinder. In fact, the Sludge influence/similarity also bleeds through to the band’s sound as it’s dirty, filthy and downright unhealthy. The slower songs cement this feeling.

This is a dark album that does fast, straight-to-the-bone as well as slow-and-malevolent and does them both equally well. Or, if anything it’s the slower tracks that come off even better than the high energy faster ones as the band’s sense of creeping moss-covered horror realises its apogee.

Heavy riffs are the bedrock of this album and there are some juicy dark melodies located among the granite-hard guitars.

This is a very strong release from a very enjoyable band. Baptists are onto a winner here.

Cold Blue Mountain – Old Blood (Review)

Cold Blue Mountain are from the US and this is their second Sludge/Doom album.

This is expressive and expansive Sludge that combines elements of Doom and Post-Metal with scything screams and heavy atmospheres.

Moments of Post-Metal timidity and fragility combine with the wall-of-guitars approach of Sludge and the outright slow and heavy assault of Doom.

The result is Old Blood which reeks of despair and an almost tangible sense of lost hope. This is the soundtrack to broken dreams and wasted potential.

Of course, that doesn’t apply to the band themselves though as they have huge potential and see it realised across these 5 tracks.

The immense riffs combine with the caustic screaming to create fields of heaviness the likes of which most bands will never see.

Old Blood is a dark affair, powered by pain and driven by angst. It’s emotionally charged and the band don’t let up the mood for a minute. Whether it’s heavy or light, fast or slow, Cold Blue Mountain are here to remind you of the things you wish you didn’t know and the things you wish you hadn’t done. But there’s no catharsis, only regret.

Take the time out of your day to contemplate the horrors of existence. Take the time out of your day to listen to Old Blood.

Interview with Boddicker

Earlier in the year Boddicker released their False Flag EP. It was like a kick to the face and really caught the attention of the authorities. I wanted to find out more so I contacted them via the underground and I’ve shared this communication below.

Since this EP they’ve released their début album Crime Upheaval, which is another short, sharp bout of violence that will surely raise their wanted status. Let’s find out what it’s all about…

Tell us a bit about the Boddicker concept – can you fly Bobby?

Clarence Boddicker is an uncompromising cold-blooded killer driven by profit and sadism. So are we.

What are your influences?

80’s UK grind and crust, old school death metal, New York, Scandinavian, and Japanese hardcore, Slap-a-ham era powerviolence, Eyehategod.

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

Nothing really new except for Water Torture, Teitanblood, and Vallenfyre. Right now the OCP office has been spinning 70’s Aerosmith, early At the Gates, Dark Angel, D-Clone, Machetazo, and God Macabre.

How do you feel the current Grind scene is holding up – healthy or not?

Hit or miss. There are a lot of great grind bands currently hustlin’ like Nak’ay, Archagathus, Water Torture, but at the end of the day we’d rather rob a liquor store while Repulsion’s ‘Horrified’ plays in my camaro.

You have an unusual Grind sound in that you also have a large Sludge influence. Is this something that’s intentional or did it just happen?

A little bit of both. Everyone has their own eclectic tastes, but one of the few bands we can all agree on is Eyehategod and Buzzov*en. It’s only natural that their influence made their way into our sound.

Boddicker Band What did you want to achieve with False Flag?

We wanted to curate an intense, distinctive, aggressive and memorable release. Whether or not we did that is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder.

Are you happy with how it turned out?

Overall, yes. However, we’ll be a little generic and self-serving and say that we’re overall more satisfied with ‘Crime Upheaval’. Saying that, we all firmly believe that ‘False Flag’ is a ripper.

What are the lyrics all about then?

Crime, anarchy, and spitting in the face of all authority.

What’s the meaning of the EP title?

A false flag is a covert military operation designed to deceive in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by entities, groups or nations other than those who actually planned and executed them. Collectively, we’re all interested in operations perpetuated in this manner, and felt it was a fitting EP title.

How are your songs written?

Usually after a crack binge and getting down with our favourite Napalm Death, Celtic Frost, Carnivore, Cro-Mags and Black Flag records.

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

Louder, faster, and more ignorant.

What can we expect from a future album?

Well, it’s technically already out since we took a ridiculously long time to answer these questions. Pretty much more of the same, but with more succinct sounds, and more comfortable and confident songwriting. You won’t get too many surprises from Boddicker. We’re very much one-track minded individuals.

What’s next for Boddicker?

More recording, more touring, more playing, more criminal activity, more crushing the false and weak, more money, more problems.

Listen to their album below…

Snailking – Storm (Review)

This is the new album from Swedish Doom band Snailking.

Having enjoyed Snailking’s previous work this album held much promise for me and upon listening to it I’m pleased to say they haven’t let me down.

If you’re unfamiliar with Snailking they play Doom Metal with an easy slowness and epic-length songs. Think Electric Wizard with a bit more of a Stoner edge added to the Sludgy Doom.

The band have a raw, earthy sound that has honest appeal to it and a good gritty tone to the guitars. It’s heavy and dirty with a carefree vibe.

The vocals are lazily melodic with a roughened melodic edge. They add deeper growls and other vocalisations when needed but these are not over-used. The singer is relatively low in the mix and his voice seems to fuse with the music at the cellular level.

Riffs the size of mountains regularly tumble out of the speakers and the band effortlessly ply their Sludge-tinged Doom with simple effectiveness. There is a drone-like hypnotic component to their sound that carries you along on a sea of distortion and the promise of Doom.

These are well crafted songs that may sound jammed out but nonetheless display good structure and songwriting skills.

Storm is 53 minutes of expertly played Doom Metal. Highly recommended.

Fistula – Vermin Prolificus (Review)

Fistula are from the US and play Sludge Metal. This is their sixth album.

Oh Mother Sludge! You have such sights to show us don’t you? Fistula are firm adherents to the cause and push Mother Sludge’s agenda as if their lives depended on it. And maybe they do, as Mother Sludge is fickle with her favours.

Fistula are a very prolific, (heh), band and it’s always a pleasure to hear Sludge played with passion and feeling like we have here. Sludge is such a rich sub-genre of Metal that it’s easy to make it your own but it’s also easy to fall by the wayside into sloppy Eyehategod worship.

Of course, all Sludge bands by the very nature of the style have some Eyehategod in their sound; as this is the basic template of Sludge what matters is what the band does with it. Do they follow the template strictly or do they make it their own?

Fistula have embraced their fuzz-soaked, feedback-drenched Southern roots but like all great purveyors of the style they have mutated and warped it to their own vicious desires. As such, Vermin Prolificus is an album that bears the weight of history on its hulking shoulders without even noticing it’s even there and the resulting noise-fest is a grim testimony to the love of all things filthy, dirty and downright heavy.

On Vermin Prolificus the band leave no fungus-covered stone unturned in their quest to uncover all of Mother Sludge’s mysteries. Slow, fast, heavy, ever-so-slightly-less-heavy…the band play it all with relish and pull all of it off very well indeed.

The songs have the instant appeal of a rotten landscape and the hidden depths of a foetid swamp. This is music to get buried in.

I love this kind of album especially when delivered by the desperate hands of true believers like Fistula. If you have even a passing interest in the Sludge style then this is a must.

Get down, get dirty and get Fistula.

Interview with Secret Cutter

This year Secret Cutter unleashed their début album Self Titled on an unsuspecting world. This was an avalanche of heaviness and naked hostility tempered down into a short shock of an album that was immediate enough to get the adrenaline flowing and featured enough depth to carry it for the long haul. If you haven’t already heard it I recommend tracking it down. Now.

I wanted to find out more so dived head first onto the cutting floor…

sc5 For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

Jared: We’re Secret Cutter, a 3-piece Sludge/Grind/Doom band from Bethlehem PA and we play heavy music!

Evan: We don’t have a bass player.

Give us a bit of history to Secret Cutter

Jared: Ekim and I’s old band (Oktober Skyline) broke up and we were in between bands and heard Evan, who put out the OS record, wanted to play something heavy, so we decided to try it out and a few months jamming we recorded our 7 inch in Ekim’s basement.

Tell us about the band name

Evan: It’s about the trap of self hatred. None of us cut ourselves on purpose.

What are your influences?

Jared: Impermanence, edibles, the human experience, love, hate, anything can be an influence if you let it.

sc4 What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

Jared: Nothing heavy really, Emil Amos from the Holy Suns is destroying me lately.

Evan: The “Off Your Parents ” Ep by The Yah Mos. It came out in 1994 one of the best 7 inch’s of the 90’s in my opinion.

Ekim: On the heavy side of things, Lord Mantis.

How did you decide upon the sound that your band has? Was this a conscious decision to aim for this or was it a more organic, natural process of just finding out what fit and felt right?

Jared : Definitely wanted to do something heavy. I think in time as we grow we’re constantly trying to bend our definition of ‘heavy’. But not on purpose…it just happens with time, and that moment when we’re chuckling with the hairs standing on our necks, we know it’s right.

sc3 Where/how do you think you fit in with the wider Metal scene as a whole?

Jared: I’m not sure where we fit in really. I’d hope it would be enjoyed by any fans of heavy music but I feel like we don’t appeal to just one genre.

Do you have any specific goals you want to achieve with this album?

Jared : Just to get it out to as many ears as possible.

Are you happy with how it turned out?

Jared : Very happy at this point. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Evan: The response has really been great. One review basically said we make music for the end of the world. I really enjoyed that..

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

Ekim: The struggles of everyday life for everyone. Each song is it’s own meaning for me, but could be relate-able through other people’s interpretations. No love making lyrics here.

sc2 How do you write your songs?

Jared : Evan brings the riffs to the table like a manic scientist and I basically learn the song and try to syncopate the rhythm. Then over time the songs just grow. It takes a really long time for some songs to be fully incubated.

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

Jared : If any more bleak than what we’ve been writing…I’ll want to swallow a bottle of Zoloft. And I’m OK with that.

What’s next for Secret Cutter?

Jared : All unknown! Except our next LP which is basically written. I’m very excited about playing out with this new material.

Godhunter/Secrets of the Sky – GH/0ST:S – Split

Both Godhunter and Secrets of the Sky are from the US. This is a split between both bands.

Godhunter are a Stoner/Sludge/Doom Metal band and are releasing this not too long after an extremely enjoyable début album – City of Dust – that’s a highly recommended listen. They open the split with two tracks.

They start with Pursuit/Predator which, after some brief feedback and a sample, has a great opening riff with the vocalist’s voice sounding even deeper than usual. For a while he alternates between these deeper growls and his “normal” voice. Although the song is quite different it reminds of the vocals in Pantera’s Slaughtered which alternate between deeper and not-so-deep in similar ways.

The vocals overall strike me as a bit more aggressive than their norm, as if they’ve developed more bite to their attack. The song is an enjoyable groove and riff-fest that’s nicely heavy and plugs a gap. It ends atmospherically with acoustics and feeling.

The second song GH/0ST:S is longer in length at almost 11 minutes. This track is a bit different and is somewhat of a revelation as it sees the band experimenting with their sound a bit. It’s lighter, more expansive and features ethereal female vocals crooning softly over the mournful music. It’s a perfectly judged atmospheric slow-burner and works wonderfully.

The difference between the first and second tracks is marked and shows a band who are willing to try new things and are capable of pulling them off.

Secrets of the Sky’s début album – To Sail Black Waters – came out last year and like Godhunter’s this was also extremely enjoyable and highly recommended. Secrets of the Sky play Progressive Doom/Post-Metal and they contribute the final two songs to this split.

Their first song here is named The Star. It begins slowly and inexorably builds until it’s as heavy as a really heavy thing with a thunderous growl to accompany the slow moving riffs. Serrated screams follow before the song sinks into lighter territories once more. It’s a great example of Secrets of the Sky’s understanding of the build/release mechanics of Post-Metal and this knowledge is applied here masterfully. And heavily.

The second song is titled GH/0ST:S II and is a companion piece to Godhunter’s GH/0ST:S. This is a similar slow-burner that’s atmospheric in a jaw-dropping way; the core music is pure class, but the added strings/effects are just hair-raising. It fades out early and the remainder of the track is a sample.

This wraps up what is a very successful split for both of these quality bands.

I would strongly urge you to listen to this split release. It’s an excellent showcase for two state-of-the-art bands that deserve more exposure.

https://soundcloud.com/earsplit/godhunter-pursuit-predator

https://soundcloud.com/earsplit/secrets-of-the-sky-the-star/s-xYSet

Mothersloth – Moribund Star (Review)

Mothersloth are from Spain and this is their début album. They play (mostly) Instrumental Stoner/Doom Metal.

This album combines Doom, Sludge and Stoner with a bit of Progressive Rock to create an album that is much better than most albums without a vocalist has any right to be.

The band seem to have a finely judged sense of dynamics and pacing and the songwriting is of a very high standard, especially considering this is only their first album.

They have immense heavy riffs that are also catchy and memorable, as has to be the case for an instrumental band of this type. They’re not entirely predictable riffs either as they do throw in the odd curveball and unexpected touch here and there.

With a crisp, clear sound the band get to shine strongly as the groovy sounds roll out of the speakers.

If the band merely concentrated on the Stoner side of their sound this would be a good release, but it’s the fact that they also incorporate other styles that brings things up to another level. The tempo and time changes, the more Progressive riffs and the more complex arrangements that complement the basic structure of this style makes for a compelling listen.

The final song Dry Tears does actually feature vocals. These are clean and confident; like the rest of the album they’re perfectly judged and executed.

This album has surprised me with just how good it is. I highly recommend this for anyone into any style of heavy music. If they can keep this level of quality up and get a bit more exposure then I can easily imagine big things in the future for this band. Top work.

Sorxe – Surrounded by Shadows (Review)

Sorxe are from the US and play Sludge/Doom.

Two bassists? Layered vocals? Textured soundscapes? Heavy as fuck Doom? Yes please!

Sorxe have a crushing sound that’s befitting of a band who have double the normal number of bass guitars. This is as monolithic and colossal as you might imagine. The music is expansive with Progressive Doom tendencies and has a warm and heavy sound. Surrounded by Shadows has strong ambitions and the talent to see them through.

Special note should be made of the vocals, as they are diverse and wide ranging in their style. The singer shouts and bellows his voice raw, uses powerful semi-cleans and even manages soft crooning. It’s extremely impressive.

The songs on this album combine the unbearably heavy with the richly evocative and highly emotive. The band seem adept at switching from crushing passages to sections of energetic feeling seamlessly. Each song is highly accomplished and the band have truly unleashed something special.

The instruments are all used creatively and the synth effects add a further layer to their already involved sound.

Surrounded by Shadows combines elements of bands like Neurosis, Ufomammut, Electric Wizard, Yob, Isis and Mastodon to create an album that spends as much time destroying the listener via harsh sounds as it does through emotional weight.

These songs are diverse and well-written. They resonate with feeling and are richly textured and layered. This album has the complete package and offers a holistic, cohesive listening experience.

A stunning début that I’ll be playing for a long time to come. Essential listening.