Sludge Metal

The Drift – Seer Review

By Dear Hollow on December 1, 2019 in 2019, Groove Metal, Plug Music Agency, Post-metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Groove Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 9 comments

“I showed this album cover to my high school students. Their first reaction was, /Is that the new Imagine Dragons album?’ I’m currently entering F’s for all of them. But I also realize that first impressions are often everything for the little-known guys in the promo bin. They’ve got one chance to impress, whether it be their skill set, an interesting style of music, or album art. South African sludge-groove quintet The Drift promises a neat cover, a history of prestigious live performances, and acclaim from well-known musicians. Does Seer find its groove? Or is it stuck in a rut?” Imagine Leviathans.

Shadow Limb – Burn Scar Review

By Master of Muppets on October 28, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Groove Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Seeing Red Records, Sludge Metal, Groove Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, 45 comments

“Let me make something clearer: Shadow Limb sound like early (read: good) Mastodon. Like, a lot. The only way to experience the earnest, adventurous riffs and rhythms of tracks like “Rudiger; ” or opener “Asger Arisen” without immediately recalling Mastodon is to have somehow never heard Mastodon in the first place. Half mast(odon).

Juggernaut – Neuroteque Review

By Dear Hollow on October 16, 2019 in 2019, Ambient Metal, Avante Garde, Drone, Folk, Italian Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Space Metal, Subsound Records, Drone, Folk, Sludge Metal, 14 comments

“When you hear about certain genres, do you have an image that pops into your head? It’s not always fair, but the most obvious one is black metal. You just got an image of a corpsepainted weeboo hanging out in a dark forest. Boom. I’m a fucking magician. What about sludge? Did you see a backwoods redneck with a twelve-gauge and a six-pack? Sporting beards, greasy locks, and enough flannel to challenge Saskatchewan?” Not your hick uncle’s sludge.

Opium Lord – Vore Review

By GardensTale on October 10, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Noise, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Sludgelord Records, Sludge, 20 comments

“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.

Reflex Machine – Interzone Review

By Master of Muppets on September 21, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Experimental Metal, Over the Counter Culture Records, Post-metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Experimental Metal, Sludge Metal, 15 comments

“If you’ve been loitering in the Hall since the Great Muppet Invasion first began, you’ve probably noticed how great I am at promo selection rarely I wander too terribly far from my tried and trve metal wheelhouses. I’ve been burned by the bin before, I’m bitter and basically all but unable to believe that things could be better beyond the blackmosphere, but the burden ov objectivity and that big bastardly bully of a boss-monkey Steel have beckoned me to bid bye-bye to my beloved blackness and embrace being the bin’s bitch.” Monkey bin-ess.

Vokonis – Grasping Time Review

By Huck N Roll on September 9, 2019 in 2019, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Stoner Rock, Swedish Metal, The Sign Records, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 17 comments

“Grasping Time is an album I’ve been keeping my eyes open for since 2018, when Swedish trio Vokonis re-released their 2016 album, Olde One Ascending. First, they spelled Olde correctly. Second, it was a damned fine debut, an oddly alluring progressive take on bands like Black Sabbath and Sleep, with a bit of Stooges and old Baroness mixed in. At that time, they stated they were working on a 2019 release, so I kept a sharp lookout, and lo! Here we are, with the band’s third album in hand.” Just like olde times?

The Holeum – Sublime Emptiness Review

By Master of Muppets on September 1, 2019 in 2019, Doom Metal, Lifeforce Records, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Spanish Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 18 comments

“One of the only neat things about this angry metal gig is how you can select an album to review and within a spin or two have a pretty good guess as to which of these other cretins will enjoy said album. Today I present to you The Holeum’s somber sophomore escapade, Sublime Emptiness, with the strong suspicion that our silverbackedest scribe will scoff this stuff up.”Embrace the hollow.

Warcrab – Damned in Endless Night Review

By Holdeneye on August 30, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Transcending Obscurity, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 82 comments

“I decided to atone for this cowardice by chugging some audible sludge in the form of Damned in Endless Night, the third full-length album from British wrecking crew Warcrab. I don’t listen to much sludge but the choice band name, impeccable logo, and Bolt Thrower comparison in the promo lured me into the Warcrab pot, and the musical chum I found within was so good that I couldn’t escape—nor would I want to.” Wharf arts.

The Road – Reverence Redacted Review

By Carcharodon on August 28, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Doom Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 31 comments

“Never, however, have I wished that someone take your average British motorway as musical inspiration. In complete disregard of my wishes, Bristol, UK band The Road have done just that. On this, their self-released debut, Reverence Redacted, the Bristolian two-piece draw on the “crushing oppressiveness of the British motorway experience”⁠—personally, I would say “soul-crushing oppressiveness”⁠—to inspire their post-doom offering.” Trapped on the highway to Hell.

Gorilla Wizard – Tales From the Cauldron Review

By Steel Druhm on August 26, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 23 comments

“Long Island, New York is a strange place. Geographically speaking it’s the penis of the Empire State, and essentially a vast, sprawling suburb for New York City that runs from the rough n’ tumble boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens through the tony Hamptons and on to the picturesque Montauk lighthouse. Though city adjacent, it has a culture and vibe all its own. Think of a tense middle ground between The Jersey Shore and Goodfellas and you’re in the right zip code. It’s a place of rowdy attitude and stubborn pride, as depicted in the various lyrics by favorite son Billy Joel, and it’s not for everyone. But hey, if you don’t like it, you can fuck off back to whatever garbage town you crawled out of. From this raucous suburban jungle comes the silverback charmers in Gorilla Wizard as they peddle their unruly take on riffy stoner/sludge metal.” Professor Ape.