“This site suffers from a High on Fire appreciation deficit. Staffers from the prog-and-scones salon brush them away like so much dandruff from the shoulder of their tweed blazers. The caveman contingent, meanwhile, sends no love to this sludge institution. We’ve only reviewed them one time! The oversight heaps discredit on snobs and slobs alike. With the release of their ninth slab Cometh the Storm, I, Ferox, pounced on the opportunity to acknowledge these facts and correct the record. Cometh the Storm just needs to deliver the groceries one more time so I can cram it in the face of my fellow staffers.” High on fanboying.
Sludge
Melvin and The Melvins Rodeö: Melvin Ditches His Pills and Reviews Tarantula Heart
The Melvins team up to Rodeö the new album by Melvins. Will Tarantula Heart be the straw that psychic breaks the staff’s back? Depends on who you ask.
Subterraen – In the Aftermath of Blight Review
“Sludge is a genre naturally able to bridge and wholly fill the gap between a rage that stretches towards hardcore, and a more pensive and somber emotionality more at home in doom, or post-metal. Therefore, when faced with Subterraen’s label of “Atmospheric Post-Sludge,” I knew this shapeshifting propensity would be amplified, particularly in the latter direction.” Thunder from down under.
Mastiff – Deprecipice Review
“No one plays sludgy hardcore grind quite like the UK’s Mastiff. Not that many people play sludgy hardcore grind to begin with, but if they’re out there, they don’t play it like these Kingstun upon Hull lads. True to their canid namesake, which, if you saw them casually out for walkies in your neighborhood, would illicit a “Jesus Christ, that’s a big dog” exclamation, Mastiff shock with the weight and size of their sound.” Toothsome and clawsame.
Stuck in the Filter: January’s Angry Misses
It’s becoming apparent that our filtering systems work quite well! The crew has done a fine job pulling filth from the workings and releasing the pressure to the system. A second too late and the toilets would have backed up.
Uncomfortable Knowledge – Lifeline Review
“I have a soft spot for young bands releasing records under their own steam. With the amount of time I’ve spent pooling money for too little studio time and going through sketchy post-production just to have a stack of records I end up giving away to friends and family, I feel a masochistic duty to tackle self-releases when the promo sump presents them. Today’s lucky candidates are the French quintet Uncomfortable Knowledge, with their second full-length Lifeline.” The burden of knowledge.
Stuck in the Filter – October’s Angry Misses
The October Filter Report is here and we have some interesting things to break down for you. Get stuck!
Walking Corpse – Our Hands, Your Throat Review
“Heavyweights Gridlink and Rotten Sound have led the grindcore charge in 2023, but to discount less heralded acts carving a presence in the modern grind scene runs the risk of overlooking the next big thing. Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, Walking Corpse independently released an EP and debut full-length, 2020’s The Fear Takes Hold, before inking a deal with one of heavy music’s more impressive modern labels, Transcending Obscurity.” Dead man walking!!
AGLO – Build Fear Review
“Aaron Osborne is the mastermind behind AGLO, a Star Trek-themed fusion of death doom and sludge more unnerving than that abomination Tuvix. Will his debut full-length Build Fear be ecstatic fan service like the third season of Star Trek: Picard? Or will it be disappointing and confusing like the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard?” Spock rocking.
Warcrab – The Howling Silence Review
“Surprise! I know many of you have been patiently waiting for Holdeneye‘s review of the fourth full-length from UK death sludge slingers Warcrab, given how he so shamelessly ran his tongue all over their exoskeleton’s undercarriage when he reviewed their last outing, Damned In Endless Night. Well this time you get me. Don’t worry, Holdy‘s fine. He’s certainly not bound and ball-gagged in my garden shed dressed like Adventure Time’s Finn the Human, slipping in and out of consciousness in a chloroform haze. He was simply busy this week and remembered how much I also enjoyed Warcrab’s last album, so he turned over reviewing duties to yours truly.” Pick the Crab!