Sludge Metal

Varego – I Prophetic Review

By GardensTale on February 15, 2019 in 2019, Argonauta Records, Italian Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge, 92 comments

“I’m gonna go ahead and say it: making good music is hella difficult. Us reviewers have it easy; the only skill our trade requires is writing good. But an album has so many steps where it can falter and bring down the entire Jenga tower. The musicians have to be able to play their instruments reasonably well. If they have a vocalist it’s double the trouble, judging by how many albums are tripped up by the vocals. Songwriting is a balancing exercise in and of itself; riffs, bridges, structure, all without sounding too derivative and trying for some originality. Then when you finally have everything put together, you have the recording and producing process, and it may still fall into traps of sounding lifeless or generic. It’s a miracle any good albums are produced at all!” Me write good some day.

Herod – Sombre Dessein Review

By Lokasenna on February 14, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Pelagic Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Swiss Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, 65 comments

“Real talk: most of the time the intros for these things are the hardest part. Grueling, even. This is probably obvious, given how often they’re rambling and off-topic, but it’s the truth. It’s even harder when resounding apathy is the limit of what one can muster after a week of listening to something, and that’s where I am. The band, Herod, has got some talent, and are looking to make their mark with debut record Sombre Dessein, but the result is very mixed, unfortunately. A Swiss quartet of death/sludge progsters should be pretty engaging, at least in theory, so what went wrong here?” Rutting.

Seer – Vol. 6 Review

By El Cuervo on February 12, 2019 in 2019, Artoffact Records, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Sludge Metal, 50 comments

“Trve followers may notice that this is the third review for Vancouver’s unheralded Seer at this site. Vol. 1 & 2 opened 2016 with a whimper which at least betrayed some potential for proper impact, and said impact was felt with 2017’s Vol. III & IV. 2019 has arrived and with it comes a rejection of Roman numerals and a reversion to integers in Vol. 6. ‘But wait!’ I hear you cry; ‘What happened to Vol. 5?’ The honest reason that I didn’t cover it was partly that we didn’t receive the promo but principally that I didn’t have much inclination to buy and review a record simply to say that it’s average. You may consequently note that my views on Seer are reasonably varied. What, then, is the verdict for this release?” _Insert joke about being able to see the future here._ (Wait, is that the joke or should we insert one?)

Exit…Hall Left: The Weenie Metal Round-Up [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Dr. Wvrm on December 27, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, American Metal, Black Metal, British Metal, Chinese Metal, Doom Metal, Dutch Metal, Epic Metal, German Metal, Hard Rock, Israeli Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Synthwave, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Alternative Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, Hard Rock, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Non-metal Metal Things, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Synthwave, 68 comments

“Not everyone can be BRUTAL ENOUGH!!! Some of us are hobbits; diminutive, folksy, averse to Camo™ and Camo™-derived accouterments. Maybe you just want to smell the flowers, despite your allergies. That’s ok. We’re here for you.” Hello, weenies.

Thunder Horse – Thunder Horse Review

By Huck N Roll on December 11, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, BC/TX Records, Doom Metal, Reviews, Sludge, Sludge Metal, Stoner Rock, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Rock, 40 comments

“I’m going out with a bang on my last review of the year. Well, maybe more like a cannonball fired into a vat of molasses. This eponymous debut from southern sludge band Thunder Horse packs a wallop, kind of like being struck on the side of the head by, oh, I don’t know, a Crowbar?” A Thunder Horse of course, of course.

Shallow Grave – Threshold between Worlds Review

By Angry Metal Guy on December 5, 2018 in 2018, New Zealand Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Sludgelord Records, Sludge Metal, 27 comments

“Doom is inescapable. Fear of the known is the constant background buzz of human existence, in its way as strong as fear of the unknown. The knowledge of one’s doom can be a chain too heavy to bear. It’s the curse of reading your future chiseled in granite, holding a crayon. Auckland, New Zealand’s Shallow Grave make their malevolent hay with that fear.” Fear the known.

Old Man Lizard – True Misery Review

By Cherd on December 2, 2018 in 2018, Doom Metal, English Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Wasted State Records, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 32 comments

“If you’ve been following the Chronicles of N00b, you may remember that the last time I was let out of confinement, it was for a forced march through a symphonic winter wonderland. This, after specific requests to review my preferred genre of doom, nearly broke me (no doubt the point). But for my fifth review, I’ve been thrown a bone. Not only do England’s Old Man Lizard play doom, they play the stoner strain: ur-doom that can trace its origin to the moment Sir Lord Baltimore and Black Sabbath crawled out of the primordial ooze after the mantle cooled on Planet ~~Caravan~~ Metal.” Feel the scales.

The Great Sabatini – Goodbye Audio Review

By Cherd on November 17, 2018 in 2018, Canadian Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge Metal, Sludge Metal, 17 comments

“One of the strangest things about entering middle age is that you are now old enough to see the cultural detritus of your formative years scooped up and reconfigured for new consumption. When younger people become enamored with the aesthetics of a prior decade and make new work in that vein, this can enliven the old aesthetic with a contemporary spin, or it can be lifelessly derivative (see: re-thrash).” Collect them all.

Dirge – Ah Puch Review

By Master of Muppets on November 15, 2018 in 2018, Doom Metal, Indian Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 39 comments

“So the good news is that today we’ll be taking a field trip, we’ll be heading into the jungle so dress accordingly; the betterer news is that this is a time travel episode! Drawing lyrical inspiration from history and mythology alike, India’s Dirge are taking us to Central America, circa Hernán Cortés’ storied rape of romp through the Yucatán Peninsula. This box-approved bidness is a rather violent affair in and of itself, so hurry up and get your seatbelts fastened. Or don’t, yo. Your safety is none of my concern, I’m just here to tell you about a wicked good doom album.” Exploratory doom.

Supreme Havoc – One and All Review

By Lord Doom on November 11, 2018 in 2018, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Punk, Reviews, Self-released, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Punk, Sludge Metal, 33 comments

“I am horrible at cooking. I love a simple recipe involving as few ingredients as possible and minimal effort from the “chef.” Finnish sludge/doom/d-beat rockers Supreme Havoc seem to subscribe to this philosophy as they are composed of only the essential: drums, bass, guitar, and vocals. The quartet has been together since 2014 and has released two EPs, one in 2015 and another in 2016. One and All marks their first full-length album together and after a quick scan of their promo material, I had one question: Is this just a heavier Mastodon with some doom thrown in or have these four Finns made something special out of this idiosyncratic collection of genre tags?” Genre hoggery.