It’s becoming apparent that our filtering systems work quite well! The crew has done a fine job pulling filth from the workings and releasing the pressure to the system. A second too late and the toilets would have backed up.
Sludge
Uncomfortable Knowledge – Lifeline Review
“I have a soft spot for young bands releasing records under their own steam. With the amount of time I’ve spent pooling money for too little studio time and going through sketchy post-production just to have a stack of records I end up giving away to friends and family, I feel a masochistic duty to tackle self-releases when the promo sump presents them. Today’s lucky candidates are the French quintet Uncomfortable Knowledge, with their second full-length Lifeline.” The burden of knowledge.
Stuck in the Filter – October’s Angry Misses
The October Filter Report is here and we have some interesting things to break down for you. Get stuck!
Walking Corpse – Our Hands, Your Throat Review
“Heavyweights Gridlink and Rotten Sound have led the grindcore charge in 2023, but to discount less heralded acts carving a presence in the modern grind scene runs the risk of overlooking the next big thing. Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, Walking Corpse independently released an EP and debut full-length, 2020’s The Fear Takes Hold, before inking a deal with one of heavy music’s more impressive modern labels, Transcending Obscurity.” Dead man walking!!
AGLO – Build Fear Review
“Aaron Osborne is the mastermind behind AGLO, a Star Trek-themed fusion of death doom and sludge more unnerving than that abomination Tuvix. Will his debut full-length Build Fear be ecstatic fan service like the third season of Star Trek: Picard? Or will it be disappointing and confusing like the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard?” Spock rocking.
Warcrab – The Howling Silence Review
“Surprise! I know many of you have been patiently waiting for Holdeneye‘s review of the fourth full-length from UK death sludge slingers Warcrab, given how he so shamelessly ran his tongue all over their exoskeleton’s undercarriage when he reviewed their last outing, Damned In Endless Night. Well this time you get me. Don’t worry, Holdy‘s fine. He’s certainly not bound and ball-gagged in my garden shed dressed like Adventure Time’s Finn the Human, slipping in and out of consciousness in a chloroform haze. He was simply busy this week and remembered how much I also enjoyed Warcrab’s last album, so he turned over reviewing duties to yours truly.” Pick the Crab!
Biledriver – Let the Sun Swallow All Review
“It was hard to know what to expect from Let the Sun Swallow All. Biledriver’s Bandcamp page states that they “play a variety of metal, the genre of which we are eternally uncertain.” While broadly categorizable as a mixture of sludge and post-metal, the band’s confession is fairly accurate. Even the cover art is obtusely abstract (though rather nice). This is their debut, and sees the geographically disparate members—spanning Canada, the US, the UK, and Sweden—combine forces in a sometimes savage, sometimes somber series of sounds.” Rank and Bile.
Ashbringer – We Came Here to Grieve Review
“I have fond memories of Ashbringer’s third record, Absolution. Now, in part, this could be put down to the fact that I wrote the review while sipping an ice cold beer by the river in the picturesque city of Hội An, Vietnam. It could also be because Absolution got me my first Record o’ the Month back in June 2019, a victory that I naturally ascribe entirely to myself, rather than to the fact that Ashbringer wrote a great, progressive black metal record.” Ash fanciers.
Slomatics – Strontium Fields Review
“Belfast, Northern Ireland sludge trio Slomatics have been plying their trade for almost two decades now. Their seven previous full-lengths have been released in fits and starts, with their most consistently productive period being 2012 to 2016, during which window they released a trilogy of records, culminating in Future Echo Returns, the first of their records to grace these pages.” Low and slo(matic).
Medicine Horse – Medicine Horse Review
“There’s no right way to honor your own ancestry, especially when so much of what you could know about the ‘right way’ has eroded. Such is the plight of many Indigenous or other disprivileged peoples in North America, even in areas like Oklahoma where the concentration of descendants of many Tribal Nations remains high. Medicine Horse hails from these lands choosing to honor themselves and their chosen traditions the way that comes most naturally—heavy fuckin’ metal.” Take your Medicine!