Deliverance - Neon Chaos in a Junk Sick Dawn (2022)

Generally when I see an album advertised as blackened sludge or sludge/black metal, I get the automatic notion that it's going to be very dredging, crushingly slow and heavy material with a rasping vocalist, and a focus more highly on the heaviness and production than on a sense of interesting riffing-ness. So I was pleasantly surprised to hear a band like Deliverance shrug off such preconceptions, with a highly varied third full-length in Neon Chaos in a Junk Sick Dawn (clearly one of the coolest album titles of the year). This is a group interested in pushing the boundaries a little wider, that's not to say that there aren't plenty of the requisite grooving doomy sludge passages throughout the staggering 62 minutes of content, but so much of it is well balanced, riff-strong and calculated to keep your brain engaged with more than straining the neck to which it is attached through leaden headbanging.

For one, the band implements synths tastefully throughout, little electronic pulses that serve mainly to complement the guitars and vocals, through a mix of brooding organ-like tones or more modern electronica vibes. They're never too brazen or dominant and they instantly give Neon Chaos another dimension forbidden to most such records, some added melodic drama. There are also cleaner, sparse minimalistic passages like the intro to one of the record's two leviathan-sized tracks, "Odyssey", which give you plenty of breathing space. When it comes to the crushing, they've got that too, but I feel that most of the nastiness comes through in the tortured intonations of the vocalist, whereas the riffs are usually well written enough to remain catchy (even when derivative), and you've got the glaze of those keys to distract your conscience while your chin nods along to those grooves. There are often little surprise chords or note patterns inserted through the rhythm guitars so they don't just become some repetitive afterthought.

The band is even competent with straight-ahead black metal progressions like they kick off the album with ("Salvation Needs a Gun"), where the organ works perfectly to saturate the moderate blasted speed with a mood of nostalgia, and then it breaks into the more arpeggiated sounding synth and groove and you're already off to the races with catchiness. The big challenge is the aforementioned titanic tunes, "Odyssey" and the finale "Fragments of a Diary from Hell", but rather than dragging on, they are clearly plotted, purposeful and loaded with cool hooks, and where it does descent into a little more space and experimentation, it's rather cool with some narrative vocals over the top, dissonant guitar ringing out, plunking syrup-thick bass strokes and other earworms that keep you satisfied until they break into the excellent climax (of the latter), which is probably the peak of the whole experience. The album isn't always on fire, but overall it's quite well done.

Verdict: Win [8/10] 

https://deliveranceplease.bandcamp.com/

Bog Wizard - From the Mire (2020)

When an album starts off with a sample from the good old Moral Panic era of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, you know it's dialing my number, and yet the hits keep on coming throughout the first Bog Wizard full-length record, an effort that attempts to not only serve as a paean to the trio's fantastical die-rolling inspirations, but also to live up to the band's handle, the title, and the wonderful comic book-like cover artwork. From the Mire sounds like a slow journey through a wilderness sump, slowing down the movement rate of the party considerably and snuffing out your light sources while swarming you with insects, reptiles, and things danker still. It's an exceedingly simple record which goes all in on volume and bong-swill atmosphere, and takes its time to club the listener into submission. But hey, when you're stoned and tied to the tracks, it doesn't matter so much if the train's coming slower...it's still going to roll over you.

As with a lot of comparable bands, the key here is just to lull you in with some enormous, Sabbath-school groove and the hazy vocal patterns, but Bog Wizard isn't afraid to interchange their multi tracked hippie death chants with more extreme growls and snarls, and the latter don't really sound bad at all; in fact I wouldn't have scoffed at having more of them, as you'll hear in "Shapeshifter" where they sound ferocious and have an incredible sustain on some of the lines. That said, the cleaner vocals certainly fit in better with monolithic cuts like "City in the Mountain" or their lumbering ode to that unkillable mountain of teeth, claws and flesh known as the "Tarrasque". The guitars are minimalistic, chunky and heavy, a good counter to the more atmospheric effect of the vocals, although I wasn't a huge fan of their production, which was a bit too thick and syrupy on the heavier parts, with the bass getting a bit in the way of the rhythm guitar. It reminded me a little of some of Bongripper's material, in fact the sound overall reminds me of them, only there's a major difference in theme, whereas one is more focused on the drugs and suffering, this trio has the more structured traits of traditional epic doom, and for a DM and player like me, more compelling lyrical themes.

There's also a greater dynamic range across the substantial track-list, from proggier psychedelic escapism like the instrumental "Gnarled Cane", to the use of clean guitars and atmospheric leads throughout that prevent any sort of repetitive ennui from setting in. "The Orange Goblin" is another one which is different, almost a sludgy post-hardcore vibe to the riffs which are a little faster than usual and work well with the nastier vocals. Alas, it didn't turn out to be a cover of that band's eponymous tune on Frequencies from Planet Ten, but I like to think it's some sort of spiritual nod. I found the drums throughout pretty solid, although as with the guitars, the mix isn't quite rounded out yet, the snares in particular were a little thin and felt weak against the guitars, and some of the lower pitched drums also got lost at times. There's a little padding later on in the track list, I liked the idea of the "Fireside" instrumental more than its execution, and the howling ambient short "(And Stay Out)" seemed unnecessary. One other gripe is that they also front loaded one of the least interesting tunes in "Submission in Defiance", it chugs along ala Cathedral but there really isn't a terribly strong riff in there. Cuts like "The Wizard in the Bog", "Tarrasque" or the massive "Swamp Golem" are much more effective and really brought me into the album...

But that's the key, they DID bring me into the album, and while there is certainly some tweaking to be done, further room for growth in production and the layout of the tracks, I enjoyed the blend of crushing riffs, chant-like vocals, growling, marshland molasses pacing and fantasy themes. Fans of Witch Mountain, Dopethrone, Belzebong, Windhand, Acid Witch and Demon Lung might want to get these guys on the radar and track their sinking steps through the muddy slough of doom.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]
https://www.facebook.com/BogWizardBand/

Kludde - In de kwelm (2019)

It's been a fair spell since the Kludde debut In den vergetelheid in 2008, but despite the many seasons the Belgian band has landed with a sophomore congruent with the sounds of the debut, a huge brick of black metal and sludge aesthetics with an even distribution across the album. When it comes to individual tracks, this doesn't always pan out in a 50/50 ratio, but the band is consistent when it smooths over the edges to make them fit. In fact, there's also a fraction of a death metal influence here, both in the vocals which feature more of a sustained hybrid of rasp and growl to their roar, and a few of the riff progressions which feed into or are fed by some of the album's grooves.

Now, if I were to favor one side of the band, it would probably be the faster, more black metal strain of riffing they create in tracks like "Schabouwelijke praktijken I - De rabauwen" or "Bloedkoesj", mildly engraved with melodies that help thunder it all forward. Once they go a little more mid-paced in that niche, the chord patterns become a little more predictable, and I find that also to be the case when they're laying out the sludgier sequences in tunes like "Schramoeille". That isn't to say that this is particularly weak material, it still hits you square in the gut thanks to the massive production values, and the other components like the vocals and lead guitars help flesh it out so it doesn't become too stagnant. In de kwelm is nothing if not forceful and consistent, while they might lack for some of the subtlety up front, they aren't really about that, but knocking you the hell over, which is exactly what this loud and potent mix will do, or what the material would do to you at a gig with Cerulean's massive growl digging your grave.

Some might actually find it too even of a beating, but thankfully Kludde mixes up the tempo and riffing throughout. For example, "Poesjkapelle" is like a punkier/crust piece that strikes just at the right time to brighten up the record, and the closer "De laatste reis" is a moody, murky doom piece that opens with tribal drumming, clean guitars and sparser electric riffs, before it gradually explodes and kicks you back into the bleachers. In de kwelm is a well-rounded, professional album that has no intention of boring its listeners, and could find itself a pretty broad audience between fans of crust and d-beat, harsher sludge, and the more rockin' black metal acts like Denmark's Horned Almighty. A little more nuance, originality to the chord choices, perhaps even a further integration of more dissonant, evil riff patterns, or extra instances of the atmospheric stuff which does occasionally appear, and this would drill itself into my memory a lot further. No question though that this is a step up from the debut, the decade between them been spent honing the chops.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.facebook.com/kluddeband/

Heir - Au peuple de l'abîme (2017)

From reviewing their split with In Cauda Venenum and Spectrale last year, I was already prepared for the sort of onslaught Heir was going to manifest. Now, after surviving their full-length debut Au peuple de l'abîme I can attest to the fact that there are no surprises here, the experience is quite consistent with the previous material, an ungodly amalgam of blasted, rasping black metal and sludgier aesthetics that generally dominate the slower passages throughout the record. Granted, at either of these styles alone, the band proves competent, but where this album goes a little further is to vary up the material even more than that, with slower, atmospheric passes in which the drums die down to a din, and some cleaner guitars and bass lines are allowed to conjure up a realm of graceful contrast.

And I'll say it, if NOT for those particular passages, and where they're strung out about the rather lengthy tracks (all around 7-9 minutes), I might have taken away a lot less from the band. When they are launching into their utmost momentum, you're getting a very stripped, noisy, filthy take on traditional black metal which often errs on the side of pure aggression, with little distinct note variation, like the opening to "Au siècle des siècles"; occasionally with a better, more melodic note selection as you'll hear in "L'heure d'Hélios". The mid-paced or slow parts center in on a lot of jangly dissonant notes picked over steady, simple beats and crashing chugs and chords, sometimes letting the nihilistic barks of the frontman sneer out over a very simple, eerie backdrop. This latter portion of the album is almost unanimously my favorite, a lot more evocative of fear and uncertainty than when they're off into a full froth frenzy, but then again those moments of the album also create a strange psychological give and take, as if you were being lulled with drugs and then jolted back into a heart pounding state of conscious awareness.

Don't get me wrong, there are places where these two aesthetic poles collide down the middle, and Au peuple de l'abîme transforms into a truly well-rounded outing, especially where they bust out some unexpected, warmer feeling, glorious element like the bridge to "Meltem". While not a technical or complex record by any means, there are plenty of ideas here, and the band is cautious to implement them without overwhelming the fundamental sounds of the genres in which they meddle and mash. I don't know that I always felt the patience to enjoy the entirety of these tracks, but at the very least Heir does enough to deviate from excessive repetition and there are more than enough moments of elation through the 40 that they've written. Perhaps this is not quite a band at the level of eclectic aural stimulation as peers like Blut Aus Nord, but they are certainly worthy of reaching more ears than they currently do, and Au peuple de l'abîme is a substantial first album with enough replay value to leave its mark, and enough potential to build off.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/heirbm/

Mantar - Death by Burning (2014)

Hamburg's Mantar certainly isn't the first two-headed beast to enter the sludge universe, that honor might fall upon Jucifer (or someone else that I'm not thinking of). However, they certainly aim to be one of the most dynamic acts in the niche, regardless of any misconceived limitations one might foist upon them due to their lack of personnel...these guys come up with huge sounds, mandatory for the style, and also inject much-needed variation. I never got the impression through Death by Burning that this pair was afraid to try anything...not that they do here, but this is the sort of partnership where only tenuous boundaries have been set, and while the debut isn't particularly unique amidst a wide field in a trendy niche, it definitely has enough moments of promise that it won't be the last time I deign to listen to what they have to offer...

Now, I've heard a lot of sludgy stuff over the years, but very little of it has truly resonated with me. In fact, despite all the accounts of how 'artistic' or 'heavy' this style is, I find it relies a little too much on guitar tone and lacks somewhat in the creativity department. 'But it's all bout the riffs, ma'an!' Yeah, but who's riffs? A lot of what I've experienced is composed of little more than borrowed doom/heavy blues rock dating back about four decades, or grunge and stoner/desert chord patterns that by this point are just too familiar and banal to interest me; rehashed and then drowned in fuzz, volume and reverb to the extent that it might fool someone into thinking it's 'fresh' by default. Not a lot of these bands are as tortured as an Eyehategod, or as musically ambitious as a Mastodon, and I guess that would be too much to expect. I'd likely rate Mantar alongside an earlier Baroness in terms of the form, function and creativity of their songwriting. There are a lot of overt nods to older records, like the groovy chugs in the verse of "Cult Witness", which sound a hell of a lot like the "Immigrant Song", but for the most part they do what they can to diversify the heavier, lower grooves and then a sheen of added noise or ambiance featured through some higher, atmospheric notes.

There are angrier tunes redolent of High on Fire, and raunchy heavy rock riffs redolent of the Melvins, but basically Mantar must be credited for keeping the tunes busy enough, and the listener's ears affixed to the excellent drum mix, massive guitar and painful sounding vocals which definitely work on an aggro, wastoid emotional level that is just as fascinating as any of the duo's musical choices. A fraction of a punk influence, perhaps a slightly black metallic edge to the vocals and airier, distant guitars; maybe a little thrash too...but, like, Lemmy-thrash. There are a few dud riffs which sound a lot like older Orange Goblin jamming with Down, but for the most part you get some subtlety and nuance dispersed over or under the multiple breaks in the central action. A lot of sludge bands will entirely ignore the same sheen of melody that the Germans incorporate above the weighted undertow, but Mantar is just as canny on building atmosphere and ambiance as, say, Neurosis. And certainly they do not sound like just two people performing, but a phalanx of ogres. That said, there are a few too many moments on the record where nothing much is really going on, like the drum/feedback outro of "White Nights", etc, where the band's heaviness is supposed to somehow carry over through the void, and it just doesn't. In fact, I got the impression that once 3-4 of the songs had cleared, you had heard most of the band's tricks and some redundancy would set in...

...except for the 7-8 minute finale "March of the Crows", but that's more of a droning, freeform sort of thing with only a few riffs of note and it's frankly the worst song on the record because it just seems like they set a reel to record them and made it up on the fly. You get about as much out of these sorts of tunes as someone puts into them, and this one in particular could have been shaved off. Otherwise, Death by Burning is the sort of effort I could really see rising up the rungs of the sludgy Decibel/Pitchfork ladder by year's end. I thought it was a solid start, but I'd personally like to hear them go even wilder on the songwriting, let a few of the languishing 'stoner standard' riffs lapse out of the creative process and focus on the more engaging and mechanical passages. At any rate, they're worth checking out if you're into anyone else I mentioned in the review, or others like Kylesa, Latitudes, Torche or Anciients.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.facebook.com/MantarBand

Wolvhammer - The Obsidian Plains (2011)

An album like The Obsidian Plains always throws me for a loop, for while I didn't get a wealth of enjoyment from the music itself, I have a very healthy respect for what the band is doing. Wolvhammer is a Minnesota quartet which ably proves that blackened sludge need not be some wholly tortured, sluggish mess that forces a listener to mercilessly snort laced cocaine while tearing out his/her own ears and eyeballs. Granted, that's precisely what some adherents to the genre desire to experience, and thus we have acts like Eyehategod and Ramesses to dispose of them, but Wolvhammer is far more forward in incorporating its punk and hardcore influences, and in asserting a genuine, brighter sense of melody into the fury of their desolate existence.

In short: variation. If you've no interest in this genre outside of slovenly, spirit sucking noise, then The Obsidian Plains might not be the album you're looking for. It's slightly better produced and less impenetrable than last year's debut Black Marketeers of World War III, but they still incorporate a solid range of tempos into the track list that hold the listener's attention far more than some 45 minute harrowing stoner crawl might. "The Gleaming" morphs from wide open, muddy melodic sludge to punk-injected raw black metal and then into a moderately thrashing breakdown while the highly distorted bass glues it all into a singular, sobering expression. That said, I was more the into songs with fattened grooves that channeled a bit of Hellhammer like "Bones of the Pious" with its tremolo black breaks or "A Defiled Aesthetic" which alternates a Scandinavian dissonance with seething hardcore anger. "Shadowhorn" is perhaps the darkest and most memorable of these cuts, with mesmeric clean chanting cast like a shadow beneath the churning propulsion, and I also liked some of the warmer, melodic sludge in "The Sentinels".

Unfortunately, even the best written songs on this sophomore suffer from a bit of filler, and one could probably count the truly engaging guitar riffs on one hand. Left or right, your choice. The black, spacious vocals of Adam Clemans have a grisly sneer to them which sounds more than adequate to the mix and material, yet there's nothing particularly catchy about his phrasing or intonation which would drive you bonkers like Eyehategod or Iron Monkey used to do. The guitars, or at least the rhythms are very often predictable and familiar feeling, and I wish they'd made more use of the feedback and noise that permeates "Ghosts in the Water", because that actually added breadth to what otherwise follows a fairly obvious path. The Obsidian Plains is a loud and heavy record, but not heavy in terms of menace or vitriol, just the volume, so I'd like to hear some more wicked sounding note progressions mixed in with the more consonant choices.

Overall, Wolvhammer manifests the impression here of emerging from some third shift stint at a meat packing facility in the winter, red and tired eyes thrust out into the sun and in desperate need of coffee. Enormous sounding, but more blunt and spacious than abrasive. I admire them for crafting music that's a little harder to pin down in terms of its precise classification, but not all of the tunes here are created equal and too few of them really endure in the memory, nor does the work as a whole. Wanted to like this a bit more than I actually did.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/Wolvhammer

Walk Through Fire - Furthest from Heaven (2011)

Furthest from Heaven is the sophomore outing of Walk Through Fire, a Swedish band that engage themselves in the minimal, melodic sludge and doom that put countrymen Cult of Luna on a similar path to American monsters Neurosis and Isis. I would actually consider the former of those, Neurosis to be the primary influence upon this record, because you'll hear the same jangling, dissonant tones threaded through the slow crush of the chords, and the similar, angst ridden but not quite black metal rasp of the vocalist. Sadly, as I find with so many newer bands of this sort, I just couldn't find myself all that interested in what the band had to play. I can only take so much of what seems like aimless meandering that seeks to exhibit 'heaviness' in the form of the most primal strumming of instruments.

Part of the problem is obviously the length of the compositions. In songs that range from 11 to 13 minutes, I expect quite a lot to happen, but in this case, it simply doesn't. Some bands are able to drone on endlessly with the same, simple rhythms and than escalate into something that proves worth the wait, whereas Walk Through Fire keep subtly shifting their note progressions over the whole of a track, but never evoke anything interesting. From a structural point of view, the riffs at least keep themselves occupied drifting about the band's gloomy, depressive vapors, and never quite settling upon the muddy ground, but this loses some importance when so few of them are the type I'll remember a short time after the album ends. "Furthest from Heaven" and "Through Me They Blood" sound like twin canoes slowly sinking into a mire of monotony and regret, and by the time the listener is excused from the sad sight, 23 minutes have passed...

Things become mildly more engaging on the latter half of the album, first with the ambient swell tones of "The Dying Sun" and then the harrowing melodic dirge "The Dead Sun". Note that the style of the latter is not all that different from the earlier pieces, but the stream of riffs is so much more full-bodied, poignant and powerful as it wells up all of the listener's tears and does a far better job of draining his/her emotions. It's also nice that the track had the 4 minute plateau of the ambient piece to set it up conceptually, and by the time it arrives it feels as if the cloudy sky has at last given way to a torrential downpour. That's not to say that "The Dead Sun" is by any means a really good or great track, but throughout the whole of Furthest from Heaven, it felt as if the band were working up towards something, and at least it finally arrived.

Otherwise, well, what to say? I've heard painfully few of these sorts of bands in the past half decade that I find compelling, and would much rather break out my copies of Times of Grace or Through Silver in Blood. Walk Through Fire proves no exception. It's not terrible. There's obviously some rhythmic skill here, and the production is pretty top notch for this niche, but the writing is too consistently flat, where it could really use some rise and fall.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

http://walkthroughfire.se/

Shroud Eater - ThunderNoise (2011)

Miami is not a location that I'd normally consider some hotbed for primal, overpowering sludge metal, but Shroud Eater are certainly out to rub our faces in the possibility, with this loud as bedlam debut of psychedelic, oozing rock. Incorporating all of the three tracks off their s/t, 2009 EP with eight other compositions, the trio strives to conquer its audience with their massive, frontal and debilitating guitar tones, blocky and blockbusting. Vocalist/bassist Jean Saiz barks out vocals akin to old Monster Magnet or Helmet, and in fact one of the first comparisons I was drawing into my mind to was some hypothetical, female-fronted Helmet tripping on acid. I won't lie, at times I found her patterns mildly monotonous; but doped up and angry is something she clearly achieves, as if she were playing catch and response with Janette Valentine's wall of crunch and Felipe Torres measured grooves.

From the great cover art of this album I was expecting something akin to Acid Witch, but there is no involvement of death/doom, just straightforward, accessible volume delivered through blunt but effective riffs. There's nothing really intricate happening within Shroud Eater, they just want to beat your skull in and then take a smoke break. But despite this, they are not above some variation. "High John the Conqueror" and "Vesuvius" apply their boots to your head with flowing simplicity, but then the band shifts to sludgy feedback to inaugurate the next track, "Cyclone", and "Shark Valley" introduces an entirely new side for the band: ringing, engrossing clean guitars that curve into some rocking pickup riffs. From there they return to the cranium surfing, colossal tone of "We Are Beasts", and here Saiz applies a little frightening echo to her voice that carries her up to the rafters of consciousness. Other favorites here are the lovely instrumental "Oubliette" with some Mastodon or Tombs-like rhythms; and "Sinister Hunt" which is so excessive that the recording almost seems to collapse.

It's pretty enjoyable for a debut album, especially if you're not demanding anything complex. Where the band does seem to lag behind a little is in providing something unexpected around the various curves that the songs often take. I can't stress enough how far a few more layers of haunting melody, or deeper psychedelic passages would take an album like this. I kept cruising along, bobbing to the grooves and thinking to myself 'gee, if something amazing happened here then I'd probably cream my shorts', but rarely if ever did such a surprise transpire. The potential is here for a sludge explosion. Despite the incredibly crudeness of the composition, there are riffs here that hook you just on their overdrive alone. You can certainly drop in and tune out to the ThunderNoise, if you're not so picky. But a more varied vocal palette and some less predictable structure would definitely not hurt their chances at blowing up the damned map.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.shroudeaterrocks.com/

Kruger - For Death, Glory and the End of the World (2010)

Another band with the ability to topple conventions and prove the relative dysfunction of the means by which we label extreme music today, Swiss Kruger have concocted a fourth album which not only trumps all previous outings, but actually creates a refreshing and unique space within the genres of sludge, groove metal and metalcore. That's not to say there is not some overlap here with other, existing artists, but the means by which these gentlemen transfer their blueprints into an actual product falls, for the most part, outside the realm of any safe and identifiable sound.

Bands that might represent the best comparisons for Kruger would be the infamous Mastodon and the largely defunct New York artcore magnates Snapcase, but this is largely in the vocals of Reno and the means by which they flood their tracks with these churning, post-punk grooves. However, the loud blasts of bass guitar and the thickness of the riffing patterns are this bands selling points, and they possess little of the jamming tendencies of Mastodon. So a European Snapcase, or a sped up and pissed off Neurosis of Fugazi would be the closest I can think of, with perhaps an inkling of similarity to another, newer act like Tombs (though not as dreamy).

For Death, Gory and the End of the World was recorded here in Massachusetts by Kurt Ballou (of Converge) at his God City, and I have to admit it is one of the best sounding albums he has produced through his considerable (and ever expanding) repertoire of studio work. The tones are wonderful, especially in the interaction between the bass and the more spatial, melodic guitars, and each instrument is perfectly mixed. If we were to shave it down to a single genre, then an argument could be made that Kruger have to their credit one of the best, brightest sounding albums in all of the sludge sect. You can hear everything, and combined, the three string bearers exude quite a force, both melodic and pummeling.

It seems like each song on the album has the ability to create this vast polar spectrum, from a driving post-hardcore rhythm to a more than tolerable segue of drifting, jangly jet stream melodies. Perfect examples of the balance include "Villains", a stunningly precise piece which opens with a graceful force beneath angst added vocals, inserts a slight rush of a more frenzied, hint at complexity, and then walls of melancholic contentment before an extended bridge where the percussion pulse bleeds to the forefront, guitars gleaming off the edges of the skin tapping. At the close, the aggression escalates through darker, bouncing riff patterns dredged in the tones of urban rust. For other examples of their crushing material, "Muscle" has a feel of flexed joints and stretched cartilage across a thundering bass line; "Dukes of Nothing" a more carnal, grooving sensation that disappears into a spacious beat; "Our Cemetery is Full of Strangers" a loaded gun of forceful melodic walls, behind which a backing vocalist can be heard echoing the sentiments. I also really enjoyed the weight of the "Anthem of Pretended Glory".

Kruger will most likely find their crowd within the fans of modern sludge and progressive hard or metalcore music, but their base creativity, and sensitivity to smart, powerful grooves makes me wonder if they'd also reach the fans of a band like France's Gojira. There is nothing cheap about their expression. It's the transfer of emotions across the ballast of exertion, and to keep up through this record's peaks and valleys requires a certain amount of resilience. They don't come up with money shot after money shot riff here, but all course are plotted to create an album in which the listener's attachment becomes a difficult thing to dissolve. With a massive production and a boundless, dreary bludgeoning determination, look for more heads than eyes to roll here.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.kruger.ch/

Armed for Apocalypse - Defeat (2009)

California's Armed for Apocalypse stand at an interesting crossroads between the thick, volcanic guitars which define 'sludge metal', and just about every annoying element of metalcore or Pantera-style groove metal that you could conceive. Into this they inject a little melody which often takes you unexpectedly and makes for most of the better moments on the disc. I found the album frustrating, because every moment I enjoyed was quickly counterbalanced by shitty chug-a-long meathead moshcore 101.

Seriously. It's like prospecting a river, sifting through your pan to find those little bits of gold which you know are coming. "Fists of God" starts off like a boring Meshuggah clone...then tears into this kick ass melodic groove rhythm. "Hero Complex" is slow and doomy, then picks up into a Down-like groove metal with awful metalcore vocals. "A Failure" is thrashcore with some nice bridge melodies and gangshouts. "Torch Light Search for the Dead" has walls of lurching mosh ripe for the fratboy pit. Speaking of Down, the album has a cover of "Temptation's Wings" hidden at the end. The mix sounds monolithic, with crushing guitar tones and vocals all over the place. I want to sleep with 50% of this record, kill the other half, and marry none of it.

Highlights: A Failure, Torch Light Search for the Dead

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/armedforapocalypsesludge

Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs (2009)

Once in a great while, a band comes along with some new colors to offer the metal spectrum, even if these colors are merely mixed shades from previous palettes. Finland's Ghost Brigade is one such band, playing in a hybrid of melodic death and groove/sludge metal with an accessible sense of goth metal melody, without ever become fully assimilated into any of its constituent genres. Isolation Songs is the band's second full-length, following up 2007's Guided by Fire.

Whilst original, and capable of some quality songcraft, there are occasional misses, like the rather empty and dull grooves of opener "Suffocated". "My Heart is a Tomb" is immediately superior, with its flowing, acoustic intro (ala later Sentenced, Amorphis) to its driving power chords and friendly clean vocal chorus. "Into the Black Light" opens with a nice groove, once again reminiscent of Amorphis, but more of a college radio Amorphis. The big hooks and tortured vocals of "Lost in a Loop" strike you like a wall collapsing over your head, this is the one of the strongest songs on the album. "Architect of New Beginnings" has an excellent, thick flow of chords and basslines under the similar, strained vocals, with a very catchy chorus. Other good tracks include "Secrets of the Earth", another of the relatively Amorphis-like folk rockers, and the powerful "A Storm Inside", from its humble, mellow beginnings to its powerful apex.

Isolation Songs has a huge sound to it reminiscent of other modern metal records with an actual budget. This works in the album's favor, the guitars and vocals are delivered powerfully where needed and it can even give modern radio pop a run for its money. There are few bands I can really compare this to, aside from the previously mentioned (and to be fair, the similarities only emerge with the way they compose some of the vocals in the folkish sections). It's a good album to check out if you enjoy the accessible Finnish goth metal scene, or the simpler Amorphis albums where they were recording more of a rock sound. This is one of the more original records you will likely hear this summer.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.ghostbrigade.net/

Ramesses - Baptism of the Walking Dead EP (2009)

The fraternity of Electric Wizard alumni strikes yet again with a quality short player sure to darken your afternoon, three tracks of torturous sludge/doom with very grim bluesy guitar tweaks that drive deep and hard into the mutilated womb of that bitch called Hope.

"Baptism of the Walking Dead" itself leads off the charge with a grinding crawl below some of those dark, minimal leads. Adam Richardson's vocals can shift from a rasp to a rumble and back again with no downtime, and the riffs here are truly destructive, on par with anything off Misanthropic Alchemy. They can pull off a level of depressive on par with the Paradise Lost debut many years ago. "Another Skeleton" is more of a down-stoner piece, opening with acoustics over some subtle, creepy vocal chants. It 'picks up' into a painful sludge segment with some more of those old doom metal leads, while Richardson's vocals become more akin to the New Orleans sludge style. The third and final track "Khali Mist" is crepitating doom which descends into minimal, horrific acoustics with more of the distorted whispers and chants. The EP ends just below 20 minutes.

As usual of this outfit, the tones here are perfectly crunch and evoke a stark, bleak atmosphere from which there is no escape once you've let it swallow your soul. This is one of those bands who truly represent the 'blues' of the modern day era, none of that traditional bullshit but blues that are actually HEAVY on both the heart and mind. I shudder to think of anyone who could some positive output from a recording like this, but Ramesses prove yet again they are one of the best in this category, more than worthy of their alma mater. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a drink. And some pills. At the same time.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.hcp-industries.demon.co.uk/ramesses

Mastodon - Crack the Skye (2009)

You know those albums that come out that will do nothing more than cement the already fanatic fanbase of a band, but not turn newcomers on to their particular brand of music?

Yeah, well guess what, brother: Crack the Skye ain't one of them motherfuckers.

Let's just get it out of the way now: Crack the Skye is not as heavy as Remission. It's not even as heavy as Blood Mountain or Leviathan. If this twists your stomach as an automatic turn-off, then dasvidaniya. There's nothing more here that you need to read.

For the rest of you who stuck around after this revelation, well, let me just be blunt: Crack the Skye is easily Mastodon's most cohesive album to date... and if you can take some melody and classic rock with your angular sludge prog riffage, well then welcome to Nirvana, Heaven, the Elysian Fields, or Scarlett Johanssons bicycle seat (Your preference). This album is a corker from it's auspicious opener “Oblivion” to the multi-part finale “The Last Baron”, leaving you nodding your head the whole way through.

On your first spin you'll notice a few changes to Mastodon, and the first and foremost change will be Brent Hinds much-improved vocal performance. No, his voice isn't great, sometimes going from a younger, more tuneful Ozzy to an impression of Phil Collins yelling at a fence in the middle of a PCP rage. After a few spins, you're going to notice the biggest (and most important change) of the Mastodon sound: Catchy, solid, and extremely memorable songwriting. Gone are the meandering sections of The Mars Volta-lite indie bullshit that were only cool the first time. All of the songs, in every part of the album, are placed upon a concrete bed of musicality that never waivers. The fact that they've cut the amount of tracks to half of what was found on their previous releases and focused on only seven compositions shows, and in a big way. Each song has a unique sonic fingerprint, a unique feel, but the album itself feels like a complete thematic singularity.

What all that means is that when one of these songs gets stuck in your head, its consistency is peanut butter. It doesn't mean the music is radio-friendly (any more than their previous stuff was), but it's listener friendly. You want to greedily soak up these delicious tracks like the most ripe cantaloupe, instead of choking down a bunch of shit to find a couple peanuts that weren't digested.

Get this album now.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] ("The Last Baron")

http://www.mastodonrocks.com/

The Dead - Nocturnal Funeral EP (2008)

Here are six new tracks from the Australian death metal band. They temper their style with a little technicality manifesting in some grooving, noodling rhythms and a savage grindcore afterbirth.

"One Man Genocide" has a unique, groovy rhythm beneath the grunts and growls. "Agents of the Apocalypse" has a very interesting tonal riff in its verse. "At One With Evil" has an almost sludge doom vibe to it. "Devilstorm" is one of the faster tracks, with some grind sections akin to Napalm Death, alternating with another groove similar to the first track. "March of the War Demons" has some creepy riffs in among its hybrid of sludge and death. The EP closes with the title track, a crawl of a piece with more sludge influence. I enjoyed the trippy ending.

These guys have a somewhat distinct sound. The production is very raw, lending itself well to the grimy sludge and the more aggressive bits. Despite this, none of the tracks really caught my attention. I do like the way they construct some of their riffs, it's an interesting style and surrounded by some more interesting music they could be almost like a heavier Australian Gojira (or beyond).

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/lordofthelivingdead

Supercontinent - Vaalbara (2008)

Every time I think I'm finally, completely fed up with the trendy post-rock/doom/sludge scene and don't want to hear another goddamn record, some band has to come along and ruin it for me, releasing an album that I get lost in and enjoy.

Vaalbara is no perfect record, mind you, but once I relaxed and let it carry me I found myself enthralled. In particular I noticed I could find little hints of genius in many of the songs. The beautiful little melodic metal guitar flourishes in "Earthrise", and that melodic groove riff which comes in about 2/3rds of the way through the track. The ambient instrumental percussion and psychedelia of "Rain Gives Rise". The spacious acoustics alternating with the droning sludge "In Rust". The hard grooves of "The Monolith". It's all well and good, and Supercontinent pulls it off as good if not better than many other bands in this scene.

Do you like the recent albums by Isis? Mouth of the Architect? Rosetta? The Ocean? Callisto? Cult of Luna? Pelican? Well then it's a pretty safe bet you'll find a lot here to admire. It's a solid debut effort from a young American band with a good grasp of their style and the imagination to captivate you through it, rather than just bore the piss out of you.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/supercontinentisdrunk