“South Carolina duo Coffin Torture deal in an especially heavy and deadly brand of sludge—reminiscent of the slower cuts from High on Fire, and Dopethrone minus the blues influences—and specialize in the art of The Riff™. In fact, I daresay the band injected a fair amount of straight-up death metal into Blennoid, such is the devastating nature of its groove and verve.” If the coffin’s a-rockin’…
“Ontario’s Olde have been banging around the sludge scene for an unknown period of time, formerly as Corvuss until around 2014 when they decided to change their name to what it is today. I’m usually pretty good at keeping an ear out for quality sludge and doom releases, but I will admit I’ve never heard of Olde until the accompanying one-sheet bio claimed that they’re for fans of High on Fire, Trouble, The Melvins, and Entombed How do I say no to that?!” Olde and slowe.
“Look, I’m not saying I judge books records by their covers but, come on, everyone likes nice artwork, right? When I’m plumbing the murkier depths of Bandcamp, a cool cover can lure me into that one extra purchase that I swore I wasn’t going to make. It’s just as well for Te Whanganui a Tara, Aotearoa (or Wellington, New Zealand) trio Unruly then, that I didn’t see the cover of their self-titled debut before I hauled it out of the promo pit.” Ugly is as Unruly does.
“The AMG staff room—virtual only at the moment, of course, with even time in skull pit restricted to one scribe at a time—is divided sharply on sludge as a genre. Some of the hacks view it as tedious, talentless and almost beneath contempt. They are, of course, wrong. Those holding the correct view, including Cherd’s magnificent beard and yours truly, have a huge soft spot for its crushingly abrasive doom-laden awesomeness. And it’s just as well for East Vancouver natives, Heron, that it’s me reviewing this, and not one of those haters.” In sludge some trust.
“Goblinsmoker’s Toad King began a narrative arc about amphibious forest dwellers who are served by a goblin underclass. A Throne In Haze… is the second installment of the planned trilogy. While fun, this story is superfluous, since the lyrics are sparse and delivered in an unintelligible blackened rasp. A Throne In Haze... is a trim 26 minutes over three songs, and it’s all riffs, baby.” Let them eat riffs.
“Vore, for the blissfully unaware amongst us, is one of the stranger fetishes the internet has given a home. It is the fetish for being consumed. Yes, like in Bloodbath’s “Eaten.” In their infinite wisdom, the internet has even made sub-categories to such a specific fetish, namely soft vore (being swallowed whole) and hard vore (to see your body ripped and torn). Now, I don’t know why Birmingham’s Opium Lord decided to name their sophomore album after this infamous fetish. Their nasty, noisy sludge is about as arousing as battlefield amputations.” Mouthful of noise.
“I have my own boxes to check as I look for the next Cherd friendly album, so when patterns emerge, I take note. Recent positive experiences with doomy, noise tinged post-metal from the United Kingdom packaged in black and white cover art, namely Sūrya and Bismuth, led me to take a chance on Torpor’s Rhetoric of the Image. Will the sophomore effort from this three-piece keep the hitting streak alive?” Post-gambling.
“What constitutes summer music for you? In my case, I tend to gravitate towards music that plays well on car trips, meaning I blast stoner and sludge above average during the times of sunshine. These genres often have the locomotive rhythms, simple structures and addictive riffing that allow me to practice finger-drumming on the steering wheel and terrible singing, preferably with the windows rolled down so everyone in a 30-yard radius gets to enjoy with me.” Road rage and hot days.
“‘Dark’ is my thing. Dark dreams, dark thoughts, and dark music make me who I am. For most that know me, this comes as no surprise. For those that think you know me: surprise! But, as of late, my dark place has become a living hell. I could always escape there when things got tough and it was a place I could go to avoid judgment from this pathetic, untrusting world. But, four months ago, things turned real dark. Too dark. And the little room in my head wasn’t dark enough to handle it.” Dark music for dark minds.
“I normally don’t take the whole “new year, new me” maxim seriously at all. I mean sure, improvements are a good thing, right? But an entire overhaul of oneself is completely unnecessary. That said, my first review of the year isn’t a one-person black metal project. How novel! In fact, said review involves the words “sludge” and “Louisiana,” two words that’ll make me shove other writers here aside like Patsy Stone gunning for her favorite bottle of vodka. Yep, Slake, the debut album from Louisiana power trio Woorms, broke my combo of icy-cold bedroom blackness once and for all, and you would think that I would be a happy camper here.” From black to blues.
