Sludge Metal

The Acacia Strain – Failure Will Follow Review

By Dear Hollow on May 17, 2023 in Reviews, Deathcore, Doom Metal, Hardcore, Sludge Metal, 32 comments

“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.

The Acacia Strain – Step Into the Light Review

By Dear Hollow on May 17, 2023 in Reviews, Deathcore, Doom Metal, Hardcore, Metalcore, Sludge Metal, 25 comments

“The Acacia Strain has had an interesting career. While their breed of hardcore-tinged deathcore rattled skulls throughout the 2000s with albums like Continent and The Dead Walk, 2014’s Coma Witch and closing track “Observer” changed everything. Showcasing capabilities beyond down-tuned “djunz” and edgy lyrics, it set the path forward with purpose and prowess.” Double the Strain.

Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean – Obsession Destruction Review

By Carcharodon on May 8, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 64 comments

“Massachusetts quartet Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean (who, I assume, take their name from the 2007 song “Fucking Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean” by Louisiana sludge legends, Thou) have made a bit of a name for themselves on the sludge scene, despite having only one (short) LP to their name, 2017’s Decay and Other Hopes Against Progress.” Chained by an anchor?

These Beasts – Cares, Wills, Wants Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on May 8, 2023 in Reviews, Noise Rock, Sludge, Sludge Metal, Stoner Rock, 11 comments

“These Beasts plays sludge of the stoner rock and noise rock-influenced variety—still nothing to do with dogs—right along the spectrum somewhere between the hypnotic pummel of early Melvins and the screeching chaos of The Jesus Lizard.” Bad dog!

Predatory Void – Seven Keys to the Discomfort of Being Review

By Dear Hollow on April 26, 2023 in Reviews, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 18 comments

“Voids are not an uncommon thing to discuss in metal. Somehow putting to music the vastness, the unfathomability, the colossus of nothingness is a feat in and of itself, and many have attempted to bring it to life. It’s the ultimate futility, the great vanity. While many have tried, from the mysterious Prava Kollektiv’s Voidsphere, the Swiss enigma Death. Void. Terror., and the dense death metal of Desolate Shrine or Abyssal, they are mere glimpses of the monument, the perspective of madness. When the cold nothingness attaches to the skull and does not shake, will Predatory Void provide the siren’s song sprinting to the early grave?” When voids attacks.

Sunrot – The Unfailing Rope Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on April 23, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Metalcore, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 9 comments

“Sunrot has got some shit to say, and they’ve imbued the sophomore The Unfailing Rope with an essence of festering self-loathing dripped forth from incensed veins. A low-tatter mind knows that drilling a hole into your skull won’t alleviate mental anguish, but fight after fight after fight can lead you to consider (“Trepanation”). And when life has gifted you a “seething scorn [that] cauterized the wounds that never bled,” (“Patricide”), well, that lets you know all you need to build the ethos of Sunrot: the only catharsis seems to be the end. Have you got a morbid fire stoked in your curious and deflated heart yet?” Extreme solutions.

Netherlands – Severance Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on April 9, 2023 in Reviews, Noise Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 19 comments

“Netherlands has been kicking, screaming, and blowing out subs with furiously fuzzed twangs for a little over ten years now. Up until receiving this promo for their seventh album, Severance, I had no idea this band existed. Powered primarily by Brooklyn native Timo Ellis, ever busy with various groups (Cibo Matto and Morningwood, to name a couple) ranging from power pop to stoner rock to art rock, Netherlands explores the loudest and proudest of what the multi-instrumentalist has assembled over the years.” No sleep til…Netherlands!

Lurk – Aegis Review

By Kenstrosity on April 3, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 30 comments

“Here I sit, in my dimly lit alcove, wearing my cherished war elephant Transcending Obscurity tee, penning another review for a Transcending Obscurity release. This one is for Finnish sludge doom band Lurk, and their upcoming mass of grime Aegis. I was rather smitten with 2016’s (2018’s if you track signed release dates) Fringe and its murky, swinging brand of sludge metal. It was oppressive while also being quite beautiful, adeptly wielding a chilling atmosphere that cut to the bone as often as it crushed bone to dust. Just how likely is it, then, that Lurk could return seven years later with another record of similar sound and equal or better quality?” Lurking in the murk.

Morass of Molasses – End All We Know Review

By Dear Hollow on April 3, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Hard Rock, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, 10 comments

“I’ve always rooted for the Reading trio, enjoying their blend of NOLA-inspired sludge and bluesy hard rock. Ultimately, there is little changing about Morass of Molasses’ third attempt at greatness. Aptly molasses-thick sludge grooves meet bluesy melodies and wild drumming, while a bearded bro shrieks into the mic. Inject a lil stoner vibe, and you’ve summed up everything to expect.” Down with the thickness.

The Turin Horse – Unsavory Impurities Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on March 29, 2023 in Reviews, Hardcore, Noise, Noise Rock, Post-Hardcore, Psychedelic Rock, Sludge, Sludge Metal, 32 comments

“Just look at that cover! I didn’t quite care what it ended up being when I saw that brazenly bright, composite-faced figure with its many mouths open in… anguish? Excitement? Both? Of course, I knew it had to foreshadow noise to some degree—something so frighteningly stitched could only be the result of frequencies scraping the boundary between pique and pleasure.” Horse show.