“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.
“Among the Rocks and Roots explore semi-free form compositions, relying as heavily on hypnotic repetition as they do shifts in style and tempo. The concluding part of a trilogy that has explored the battle to conquer addiction, Pariah fairly seethes with an unstable anger.” Rage against the hunger.
“Lacking imagination or originality is not a charge that I have seen directed at Mizmor, and certainly Prosaic launches out of the blocks in an onslaught of blackened doom, with even some sludgy nods thrown in. Fast, bludgeoning, and furious, initially it feels like a cleaner version of Mizmor’s self-titled debut, with more than a bit of Yellow Eyes and Primitive Man thrown into the mix.” Mizmor or Mizless?
“Failure Will Follow is the album The Acacia Strain was meant to make. The second of two albums released on the same day, it is a revelation, an enigma. Like its art counterpart, Step Into the Light is the glimpse into the narrow lens of a natural if not gruesome scene: a robin feeding its chicks gore. It’s primal and strange, but not out of the realm of possibility. Failure Will Follow is the revelation, the feeding of its chicks from the massive decaying body of a deer – a graceful creature laid to waste and taken apart, its majesty a memory.” Strain, repeat.
“71TonMan is roughly equal to ten adult tyrannosaurus rex; seven minke whales; moving to my own favored species, two megalodons; or one Leopard 2 tank, of the type recently pledged by Poland, Germany and others to Ukraine. And this seems appropriate, as a sizeable, if ponderous, battle tank is a pretty good comparator for this doom/sludge outfit.” Weights and pleasures.
“Back in the early 90s, Louisiana wasn’t the only locale with conditions ripe for the development of sludge metal. Congealing in 1991, Boston, Massachusetts’ Grief were similarly influential in forging a template for how sludge, especially sludge doom, would develop in the subsequent decades. original Grief members Chuck Conlon (drums) and Terry Savastano (guitar) kept a candle burning for their former band until 2017 saw them resurrect the project, this time as Come to Grief. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect considering world events since then, and 2022 sees the full-length debut of their current iteration, the aptly named When the World Dies.” Come to silver, come to sludge.
“After recent (and in one case accidental) forays into genres somewhat removed from my traditional hunting grounds – funeral fucking drone and death metal – I am pleased this week to be back in more familiar waters with some sludgy doom. Vermont two-piece, Body Void return with their third full-length, Bury Me Beneath this Rotting Earth.” Cull and void.
“It’s not often that doom metal turns my head these days. Growing up as an impressionable teen in rural New Hampshire, I hunted down as many CDs at Newbury Comics from as many different subsets of doom metal as I could, whether it was the likes of the Peaceville Three, or the more biker-influenced style of Americanized doom metal. But while I still love those bands, it has to take something special to cause my head to turn and take notice. That something special is the one variety of doom that creeps forth from your speakers with hellish intent, that sound that does everything in its power to make you as uncomfortable as humanly possible while slowly grinding you down into a fine crimson powder. Doom like Hell, Primitive Man, and today’s subject of intense scrutiny, Denver’s Oryx.” Doom for comfort.
“Lured in initially by that artwork – unmistakably Mariusz Lewandowski but with a teensy variation on his typical hooded figure and preferred color palette – the advance track (“Mere Humans”) for Jupiterian’s Protosapien sounded huge; as in, geologically significant. This Brazilian four-piece was previously unknown to me, so off I scurried to the AMG archive dungeons to ensure that it could be mine to review! I was to be disappointed, as I discovered that a certain Muppet had in fact reviewed the last slab of atmospheric doom sludge dished up by Jupiterian. Then, when the news broke that Muppet was going to be pursuing interests outside The Hall, I realized that the follow up to 2017’s Terraforming was up for grabs after all.” Grab for the stars.
“Look at that album cover for a full minute. If that alligator doesn’t end up on Gardenstale’s end of the year round-up, I will personally ensure his redaction. You can thank prolific metal/punk photographer Teddie S. Talyor for that beauty, and you can thank Primitive Man / Vermin Womb frontman Ethan Lee McCarthy for Emanation Body.” Croc o’ gators.
