Sludge – Page 70 – Wonderbox Metal

Serpentine Path – Emanations (Review)

This is the second album from US Doom Metal band Serpentine Path.

This is heavy. This is very heavy indeed. End of review.

Just kidding. But seriously…this is one heavy album.

This is Doom-laden Sludge Metal with a healthy Old-School Death Metal influence that recalls the slowest of the Old-School masters at their dirgy best.

The band themselves have been kidnapped from all manner of high profile bands and know their stuff. In this context it’s no surprise that Emanations is such a winner. Considering their pedigree it would be a bigger surprise if this album had fallen flat on its face. As if.

The dark atmosphere and colossal riffs seem to fall from a great height to blanket the landscape and crush everything in sight. The leads and musical refrains are splashes of melodic colour in an otherwise pitch black landscape designed to emphasise the fact that all hope is in fact lost and these glimpses of better times are things that you’ll never have again.

Although these nuances of colour are peripheral concerns in the context of the larger song structure as Serpentine Path specialise in a brutal brand of Sludge/Doom that pummels the listener into submission more than lulling them into despair. The fact that these nuances exist however just gives the band more depth than they might otherwise have without them.

The vocals are pretty deep; they don’t reach the guttural lows of pure Death Metal although they do come close. They fit the music better than cookie-monster vocals would though and have an appropriately atavistic quality to them that goes perfectly with the mood the band create.

The album has a strong sound that isn’t overproduced and brings out the best of the gargantuan riffs. I could listen to this over and over again. And I will. For some time. Surely that’s the very definition of a successful album?

Walk down the Serpentine Path. You might not know where it leads but you’re damn sure in for a good journey.

Primitive Man/Hexis – Split (Review)

Primitive Man are from the US and play Sludgy Doom. On this release they have teamed up with Danish Crusty Black Metallers Hexis. Each band contributes one song, each about 8 minutes in length.

This is my first time hearing Primitive Man, but I’ve heard good things about them and am not disappointed.

When Getting High Is Not Enough starts off crushingly slow and heavy with vocals so deep and dark they seem to swallow all light. After a while the bass adopts a crawling pose while the guitars transcend to an almost Post-Metal ethereality before falling back to earth with a weighty riff. This soon breaks out into an unexpected frenzy of speed and the vocals become higher and much more vicious.

The band have this ability to play slow, fast or chuggy-as-hell while still retaining their own identity and a sense of filthy, Sludge-fuelled blackness pervades everything. The song is a victory and I am left wanting to hear more from this impressive band.

Hexis are a band who I am very familiar with as they have produced some very strong material over the years, particularly their recent full length Abalam.

Their track Excrucio is a weighty beast that has their trademark Blackened guitar walls with shredding vocals seemingly buried just underneath the enormous tide of distortion. Hexis manage to write very emotive songs where the guitars are the main stars of the show and the vocals and everything else are their to support them and help to accentuate how rock solid they sound.

Hexis have struck a winning formula with their sound and Excrucio is no exception.

This is a great showcase for two talented bands that offer a lot for the discerning metal fan who wants something a bit more from their listening.

Eyehategod – Eyehategod (Review)

Eyehategod are from the US and this is their fifth album of Sludge.

Okay, so I’m not going to hide it – I absolutely love Eyehategod. Ever since first getting Take as Needed for Pain 20 years ago (!) I’ve been hooked, and they’re one of my all time favourite bands. I say this in the interests of full disclosure, because if you’re looking for a fully objective and impartial review then you’d best move along as I’m so excited about this album it’s ridiculous!

As soon as you press play it’s just so instantly familiar and welcoming, at least to someone who’s comfortable with this style of crawling Metal. Their trademark swampy sound that has spawned literally thousands of imitators is recognisable straight away and it becomes rapidly apparent that the band have lost none of the skill and talent that they’ve had over the course of their long career.

It would be easy to doubt whether this was going to be any good as it’s been a whopping 14 years since their last album, (Confederacy of Ruined Lives), but as any true believer knows these are false doubts, as this album, quite frankly, is fucking brilliant.

The songs are fantastic and the band effortlessly create That Sound that helped spawn and shape the Sludge genre with such ease that each track slides out of the speakers in a haze of murky guitars, Southern-fried riffs, squalling feedback and snarling vocals.

Eyehategod have come to show the pretenders and the wannabes how it’s done.

This is an essential record for any Metal fan. I can’t recommend this enough. Immediately go out and get everything that Eyehategod have ever done. This is important.

Flawless.

Boddicker – False Flag (Review)

Boddicker are from the US and play Grindcore with a healthy Sludge influence.

A short release at 13 minutes, this nevertheless allows Boddicker to flex their musical muscles and supply us with an all-you-can eat buffet of extremity.

Brutality and aggression are in bountiful supply as you would imagine and there is a Crust/Punk aspect that propels the delivery along with gusto.

Their sound is dirty and Sludge-fuelled and in addition to the standard Grind speed there is a relatively high incidence of slower, Doomier parts where the band take on the aspect of Eyehategod/Buzzov-en and destroy the listener with heaviness and slow-core battery.

The vocalist sounds suitably unhinged and bellows at the top of his lungs with anger and barely suppressed rage.

A very enjoyable EP, mixing a Punk Grind sound with a tasty bit of filthy Sludge. Boddicker are to be commended and recommended.

I bet they’re amazing live.

Nightfell – The Living Ever Mourn (Review)

Nightfell are from the US and play Death/Doom Metal.

This is heavy, very heavy, and darkly melodic. The riffs collide and smash down, like Entombed playing a funeral dirge. A collision of Old-School Death Metal and Crusty, Sludge Doom; this is reminiscent of an older Metal landscape whilst concurrently sounding fresh and invigorating.

The music has a personality about it that recalls Old-School Death/Doom Metal from the likes of Dismember, Sentenced, Paradise Lost, Amon Amarth, My Dying Bride, etc. – bands with character that were leaders rather than followers.

The dual vocals rasp, growl and bark their way across each other and are as harsh and unforgiving as you would expect. Added to these are the odd spoken passage and semi-clean to keep things interesting. The vocals have their own personality and character and are very much in keeping with the rest of the music in this regard.

The Old-School Doom Metal riffs really pile up on each other and the feeling of having stepped back in time is strong. However, none of it comes across as nostalgic; rather Nightfell are merely treading the same ground as many of the greats from yesteryear and are looking to put this style of music back on the map once more.

The songs come with plenty of hooks; you’ll wonder how a song like Altars To Wrath isn’t a cover song, so authentically Swedish and catchy it is. Each song has been poured over with love and passion and a monster has been created.

The band make the most of their dark melodies to create a bleakly rich atmosphere dosed up on Doom and heavy on the Metal.

This is an album that demands to be heard.

Neige Morte – Bicephaale (Review)

This is the second album from French Black Metal band Neige Morte.

This is unusual, multi-faceted Black Metal that kidnaps other subgenres to do its wicked bidding. Noise, Industrial, Sludge, etc. all make an appearance; anything that can lend itself to creating a filthy and degrading atmosphere is used.

The band aim to create eerie, desolate, dysfunctionally abrasive atmospheres where everything is permitted except hope. The dissonant assault is overwhelming and darkness quickly takes hold.

The band play their dissonant Black Metal at an acceptable level, but I find my attention is held firmer when they slow down and give in to their filthy Sludge leanings. When they do this then they light up like a murky, Blackened funeral pyre and the filth and witchery flows freely.

This album is likely to not appeal to everyone, but for connoisseurs of the underground there is a good amount on offer here, if your tastes run to this.

Lord Mantis – Death Mask (Review)

Lord Mantis are from the US and play Blackened Sludge Metal.

This is torturous, nihilistic Sludge with Blackened overtones and a deep, deep desire to do harm. They arm themselves with all kinds of sharp implements to rabidly experiment with in the search for the ultimate frenzied stab wound pattern. This manifests itself as 47 minutes of Blackened Sludge Metal with some noise components thrown in for good measure.

The songs are the aural equivalent of darkness made solid, with lurking dangers and scything evil hidden within and somehow free to move around in the impenetrable solidity of a corporeal inky black night.

Sounding like a more savage-than-normal Sludge band, Lord Mantis take vitriol to new heights and display a callous disregard for standard genre rules. Unlike some Sludge bands they also include blast beats and noise assaults in their armoury of nasty delights, and wield them with wanton brutality.

If you can handle the acerbic nature of the music then this is top of the league stuff. Depraved, vile, sinful and warped; this may be one of the best records of the year so far.

Black Tar Prophet – Deafen (Review)

Black Tar Prophet are an instrumental Sludge/Doom band from the US. This is their second album.

This is heavy. This is slow. This is DOOM! This is good.

The band live up to their name, with Sludgy, bass-heavy riffs leading the way in a tsunami of sound designed to crush the senses and render the mind inert. Sonic sensory overload.

Destructively slow riffs meet with, (sometimes), up-tempo sections and pummelling drum rhythms to create forceful and energetic songs that soak up the raw essence of what it means to be Sludge, even when only playing for a short time; Judgement Whore is only 1:40 in length for example, but is pure filthy Doom greatness.

Imagine a mix of Eyehategod, Bismuth, Ghold and Khanate; now remove the vocals, remove the guitars and distil the essence into, (mostly), short songs. Black Tar Prophet are here. All hail.

North – Metanoia (Review)

North are from the US and play Post-Metal.

Whether it’s build and release or tense and relax; having light and dark or beauty and brutality; these are some of the staples of Post-Metal, that most varied of beasts, and North provide an exemplar of how to do this while layering the entire thing in raw, Sludgy vocals.

Picture a band playing their favourite parts of Isis and Year Of No Light and condensing these resulting compositions into shorter songs than typically either of those bands; this will give you a good idea of the ground that North tread.

The vocals are rough semi-cleans that provide an interesting counterpoint to the clear music. They are expressive and emotive in all of the right ways. The same can be said of the songs themselves. Taken together these tracks explore the emotional depths and heights of whatever the subject matter is. As someone once said of Radiohead – I don’t know what he’s singing about but I can tell he means it, (or something along those lines).

Each of these four tracks is a mastercrafted example of Post-Metal at its best, especially as it doesn’t aim to simply mimic Neurosis/Cult of Luna as a lot of Post-Metal ends up doing to some extent. Here we have a band travelling their own path to the beat of their heroes but with a singular intent all of their own.

I had never heard North before this EP, and I quickly come to the conclusion that this is a crying shame as the quality and effect of these songs is undeniable.

Expand your horizons, and make sure you travel North.

Helmsplitter – Enraptured by Suffering (Review)

Helmsplitter are from the US and play a filthy blend of Black and Death Metal.

Boasting a powerful sound the band waste no time in attacking everything around them with fierce blasting and razor sharp Blackened riffs.

The band’s songs combine many different aspects of Metal; predominantly Black and Death, but also elements of Sludge, Thrash and Crust. This means that we end up with a very dark, dank album that has the darkness of Black Metal, the brutality of Death Metal and the songsmithing of classic Metal.

There are catches and hooks aplenty in these songs, all delivered wrapped in barbed wire and with snarling vocals. The band know how to write an enjoyable song and vary tempos, styles and delivery to suit their nefarious needs.

There are stand-out moments in pretty much every song. Some examples; Panzram is the shortest song on the album and has blasting and belligerence written into its DNA; Aura of Suicide has a Hellishly good groove-based Darkthrone-esque riff that’s enough to blow away all-comers; The Ground Bleeds Sorrow piledrives along before splitting off into rumbling psudo-Southern groove; the list could esily be expanded to all 11 tracks here.

44 minutes of quality, well-written Metal; enraptured by Helmsplitter.