ALBUM REVIEW: Sleep, "The Sciences"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: April 20, 2018

Label: Third Man Records

“The Sciences” CD//DD//LP track listing

1. The Sciences

2. Marijuanaut’s Theme

3. Sonic Titan

4. Antarcticans Thawed

5. Giza Butler

6. The Botanist

The Review:        

How the hell do you approach a release like this?  Any Sleep fan had been hoping, expecting, waiting for a full-length to follow up the band-disintegrating opus “Dopesmoker”.  Even after original drummer Chris Hakius departed amicably after a series of reunion dates in 2009, there was hope of things to come.  The immediate live participation of Neurosis stalwart Jason Roeder, the sporadic trickle of new output like “The Clarity” single in 2014, and the ascension to “elder statesmen of metal” status of Matt Pike and Al Cisneros made some monumental future output all but certain.  And in a particularly keen bit of stoner humor, the trio dropped “The Sciences” on, of course, 4/20.  I actually feel pretty bad for anyone else dropping their own passion projects on a date that Sleep practically owns.  And beyond the particular bit of gimmicky scheduling, “The Sciences” is as appropriate a paean to smoke altered consciousness as stoner metal worshipers could have hoped for.

               

The introductory title jam is a wall of savage, droning fuzz.  It’s chaotic, gut churning, and LOUD even through a pair of earbuds.  Like a bongrip as rocket launch, the brief number propels into “Marijuanaut’s Theme”.  Cisneros’ bass tone and subtle variations is a welcome counter to Matt Pike’s signature MONSTER playing, and his brief solo breaks are invigorating.  Each speaker is palpable in Pike’s riffing, but he’s distinctly not hijacking as a repository for High on Fire castoffs, or vice versa.  His style with Sleep is looser and dirtier, less Fast Eddie Clarke and more Tony Iommi.  His ability to simultaneously melt faces in two distinct outfits should never be discounted, but here, with less autonomy, his soloing shows a joyfulness that you don’t often get in the gritty, paranoid shredding of the most recent High on Fire albums.  And, from a production standpoint, this is completely beholden to power trio methods – when Matt shreds, there may be multitracked lead freakouts, but there are no rhythm guitar overdubs.  The whole thing could be pulled off live and sound just as full as the record.

“Sonic Titan” is one of those long fermenting cuts that first saw life decades ago, appearing as a rough cut on the Tee Pee issue of the (still incomplete) “Dopesmoker” in 2003.  Anyone professing that the “original” is better, is likely trying way too hard.  This is a honed, heavy, beefed up track.  Plus, Sleep is all about that positively pornographic tone, and while the “Dopesmoker” outtake has a raw appeal, the warmth and fuzz crackling across my speakers is perfect.  Plus, this may be my favorite use of bass wah post-Sabbath.  In my brief scrolls through social media, Al Cisneros’ peculiar vocal delivery seems to be a divisive issue: for those who followed Om, Al’s style is not surprising, perhaps a trademark, and even beloved.  For others, the flat affect is confounding.  I’m of two minds here – sometimes it sounds like the vocals are just a little too high in the mix, but I also really love distinctive vocal cadences.  To hear Cisneros fronting Sleep is a joy – and the register of his chants on “Sonic Titan” is a welcome departure from the strained yelp of the earlier, live cut of the long gestating song.

“Antarcticans Thawed”, a Lovecraftian epic with shades of spaghetti western in the opening, is the best track, and features Al’s best, most intense vocal performance on the record.  In comparison, “Giza Butler” is a bit too restrained.  It sneers but never snarls, though the riffs and mystical cannabinoid is a damned bit of fun that should be adapted into its own issue of Heavy Metal (the fantasy mag, not the genre).  And if “Giza…”transports us to outer rim planets of continental nugs, the sweet, acoustic denouement of “The Botanist” is an instrumental sendoff that brings the most bleary eyed listener back to equilibrium.

So can it possibly live up to the hype?  Honestly, what could?  This is not “Dopesmoker” part 2, or even a follow-up to “Holy Mountain”.  But even though this is heralded as a comeback record, it’s really a new permutation of the gestating giant. From the first crashes and fills, Jason Roeder establishes his own identity as a new element of Sleep.  Whether here or with Neurosis, he’s a titan of the kit.  He, thankfully, doesn’t ape Hakius’ beloved style – peppered with idiosyncratic snare work and warped cymbal crashes.  In reality, anyone doing a “Hakius v. Roeder” rundown is playing a fool’s game: they stand not so much in opposition as distinctly powerful eras of Sleep – the playful, Loki style playing of Hakius and the muscular, Thor on drums mastery of Roeder. 

So it’s a bit of a cheat – Sleep but not the Sleep you expected.  But in the course of 6 prog-infused stoner metal jams, Cisneros, Pike and Roeder earn all the goodwill they garnered in the post-“Dopesmoker”wilderness.   If anything, their well honed prowess outmatches any expectations.  Wherever “The Sciences” is ranked in the Sleep discography, it stands as a testament to a band who had to wait nearly 20 years for the critical and music-buying public to catch up.  Or, more aptly to spark up, sit down, and thrust themselves into the hazy riff worship they’ve been peddling longer than nearly anyone still relevant in the metal game.

“The Sciences” is available here

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Path of Might - "Hallowed Gate Style"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 07/11/ 2017

Label: Encapsulated Records

With “Hallowed Gate Style”, Path of Might adds some melody and grace to the punishing might of their debut, but more importantly cements the trio as an act who, in time, could equal or even eclipse their diverse influences.

“Hallowed Gate Style” CD//DD track listing

1. Hallowed Gate Style

2. Locust Fugue

3. Infernal Orchards

4. House of Rain

5. Mega Magicka

6. Tea and Oranges

7. Locust Storm

8. Chapels to the West

The Review:

               

Path of Might’s 2015 self-titled debut drew a lot of comparisons to other sludge masters: Mastodon, Neurosis, and Baroness, to name a few.  Like these modern legends, Path of Might infuses sludge with prog flourish, and adds some Appalachian folk for good measure.  If that tidy half hour of power was just a taste, “Hallowed Gate Style”is a veritable smorgasbord of sludge.  Over the course of eight tracks, guitarist Spencer Medley, bassist Derek Rife, and drummer Adam Lucz pay homage to their forebears in metal and prog alike, while crafting a cinematic journey through time and space that invokes images of Kurosawa and Leone, by way of Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley.

               

First and foremost, Path of Mightare a highly skilled power trio, who lock into steady grooves without feeling stiff or mechanical.  There’s considerable production, with some distinct separation between guitar tracks for a nice, well rounded listen overall, but the organic tempo shifts and ineffable chemistry shines on the loose, jammy “Infernal Orchards”, or the swaggering, retro “Tea and Oranges”.  Spencer’s vocals push past the guttural barks of their self-titled album to move into melodies that are sometimes reminiscent of Pink Floyd, or, conversely, a younger Matt Pike.  While the lyrics are often subsumed by the heavy reverb or “chants field recorded in caves” qualities, it still works considering the hallucinogenic dynamics of Path of Might’s overall aesthetic.

               

The prog sludge infusions really cement the record as a serious step forward.  Even the interludes of “Locust Fugue” and “Locust Storm” incorporate American folk and vaguely “far eastern” qualities, even if they’re just cinematic flourishes.  The acoustic bridge of the title track, in particular, qualifies as its own little mystical journey.  For each of the progressive elements, there are lots of passages where the men of Path of Might reveal their classic rock hearts: “Infernal Orchards” feels like Nazareth, if they went full stoner metal, while the finale of “Mega Magicka” has a definite Thin Lizzy vibe.  The utterly savage “House of Rain” is the most indebted to Mastodon, with its rapid hammer-on, pull-off guitar riffing… but damn, Spencer manages to rip it up just as effectively as Brent Hinds & co.

For all the references to other artists, however, Path of Might is more than pastiche.  With their first album, they showed considerable instrumental prowess and fierce delivery.  In slightly more than two years, they’ve incorporated diverse elements without losing a bit of aggression, and battle hardened their sludge alchemy.  With “Hallowed Gate Style”, Path of Might adds some melody and grace to the punishing might of their debut, but more importantly cements the trio as an act who, in time, could equal or even eclipse their diverse influences.

“Hallowed Gate Style”is available hereand physical copies here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Cetacean - ‘Dichotomy’ [EP]

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 16/11/2017

Label: Apes Who Looked Up

‘Dichotomy’ is dynamic, brilliantly composed and dense enough to keep giving you something new on repeat listens. It’s tough to nail down whether this is doom, post-metal, or something else altogether, but whatever label you want to place on it, it’s fucking powerful.

‘Dichotomy’ DD track listing:

1. Zephyrvs

2. Dichotomy

The Review:

The peaks and valleys approach isn’t an easy one to get right in a metal context. There are no shortage of bands implementing the soft verse/heavy chorus formula well, but where compositions are less rigidly formulaic; a lot of bands fall short or half-commit. Neurosishas been great at it for more than twenty years now, and there have been a handful of others too, but they’re exceptions to the rule.

Cetacean are a relatively new band, but they’ve absolutely mastered the art of building to big climactic moments. Right from this EP’s opening minutes, the band take their time, adding layers and heft as they go until the song explodes with scintillating melody and soaring lead guitar. From that point on, the music ebbs and flows; retracts and expands. When it’s loud, it’s some of the most beautifully layered heavy music I’ve heard this year. When it’s subdued, it comes at the perfect time, and it always does a wonderful job of setting the stage for whatever peak comes next.

Another area where ‘Dichotomy’ excels is in its use of less conventional instruments. The saxophone and organ work on the title track suits each moment perfectly. The saxophone comes in at the midway point, taking on a similar role to the instrument's used in Pink Floyd’s “Us and Them”, before returning in later heavier sections, providing musical unease when opportune. Even better is that these unique elements aren’t hamfistedly shoved into the mix of things for the sake of it, but rather as tasteful accompaniment and only under the right circumstances.

 Whether it’s bursting with color and melody or taking things into darker musical terrain, Cetaceantake you on a journey over the course of these two songs and eighteen minutes. The valleys are alternately comforting or foreboding and the peaks are electric and satisfying. ‘Dichotomy’ is dynamic, brilliantly composed and dense enough to keep giving you something new on repeat listens. It’s tough to nail down whether this is doom, post-metal, or something else altogether, but whatever label you want to place on it, it’s fucking powerful.

Full Disclosure: Daniel contributed guest backing vocals to Cetacean’s previous release, ‘Breach | Submerge’.

‘Dichotomy’ is available here

Band info: Facebook || bandcamp

INTERVIEW: "If Carlsberg did dynamic power doom duos, Monte Luna would probably be the best in the world"

By: Aaron Pickford

As I am sure some avid followers of THE SLUDGELORD can attest too, it is our mission to present the very best heavy music the underground scene has to offer and recently I commissioned Andrei Moose from our Russian chapter to painstakingly sift through the very best albums released via bandcamp and compile the best into a chart.   For me and I am sure many of you agree, if you’re not at least attempting to release your music via this musical platform then you’re fucking up and you ain’t in the game.

Now hitting the no 1 spot back in October, were a band previously unknown to me, but holy shit does THE SLUDGELORD most sincerely approve? Hailing from Austin, Texas Monte Luna deliver towering molten riffs, bucketloads of groove and hypnotic vocals, in fact this two piece are so fucking awesome, their self titled debut album  is one of the most captivating and downright fucking monstrous records I have heard this year.  Clocking in a hefty 71 minutes, “Monte Luna” never suffers from lag, never repeats itself and just as Alice peered through the looking glass, you have no idea just what a fantastical journey is ahead of you when you press play.

Now despite releasing the album back in September, “Monte Luna’s”official album release is this Saturday November 18^th, so with the band prepping for this show, I managed to hook with band members James Clarke (Guitar, Bass, Vocal) and Phil Hook (Drums, FX, Synth) to get the low down about the roots of the band, the recording of the new album and amongst other things how they managed to score one Chris Fielding, he of Conan to master their debut record.  So check it out below.  

Guys, welcome to THE SLUDGELORD, the new album rules, but before we get to that. Can you give us an insight into how you started playing music, leading up to the formation of Monte Luna?

James: I started playing music when I was around 18. For years up to then I had always enjoyed singing but playing had intimidated me. I tried drums when I was 11 and it was just too loud for my parent’s house so it deterred me. Eventually I started playing guitar because I really liked singing along with my friends who played music. My first band I was in was this terrible band I made with some friends in the Navy. We played a few shows in Virginia Beach and we sucked. After I got out of the Navy I went back up north and started a band called Chronoscope. That is where I really started to make some cool noise. I was much more serious about playing guitar and singing. I did that for about 3 years until I got a job in Buda Texas building Aquaponics systems and green houses. I really wanted to find an area that is accepting and much more into heavier music than the area I was in. Austin drew me in and I never looked back. Ha ha

I actually met Phil via craigslist. I posted an add asking for a drummer who was into Neurosis, the Melvins, Shrinebuilder and the likes and he was the first to respond! Who would have thought!

Phil: I taught myself to play drums in the early 90’s and was in a bunch of different bands in the Indianapolis metal scene.  Around 2009 I moved to Austin, TX and started doing a lot of drummer for hire work, recording and touring for many bands and artists. A couple years ago I was feeling burnt out and stagnant artistically and knew I had to play heavy music again. So I creeped craigslist looking for some people to jam with, typed “Neurosis” on the search and the rest is history. Haha!

For folks unfamiliar with your band, are there any bands on the scene past and present that you would use as a reference point to describe your band, and who or what continues to inspire you and push you to try new things?

James: For me I have always admired the work ethic of the Melvins. I look to them on how a band should perform and run a business. I have also learned a lot of band business knowledge from our friends in Destroyer of light.Both the Melvins and Destroyer of Lightput on phenomenal shows, and to me, it is all about keeping your audience engaged and hungry. As far as sound I really don’t have a specific point to reference. I like Matt Pikes tone but I didn’t really mold my tone to anyone. I just tried things until I felt it filled enough room. I’m influenced in general by bands like Eyehategod, Neurosis, The Melvins, The Beatles, Funkadelic, Black Sabbath and Rob Crow.

As far as who inspires us to try new things. I would say most of my peers in Austin and San Antonio. I love the bands we are playing with and coming up with and I could not be more thankful! Cursus for sure! And our friends in Spain, Ground.

Phil: My music influences are all over the place… I pull from Godflesh to Howlin Wolf to Sade. The whole creative process is what pushes me to try new things for sure. When I composed the instrumental segways at the end of “6000 Year March” and “Inverted Mountain”, I sampled multiple records on my turntables, added drones and synths.

What can you tell us about your new record “Monte Luna” and where do you feel it sits within the context of current metal scene?

James: The concept of the album revolves around a story I created based on this crazy universe that is loosely inspired by things such as H.P. Lovecraft, Bloodborne/Dark Souls, Kingdom Death Monster, Berserk, The Thing and Dungeons and Dragons (which I love by the way! I dungeon master! I’m a huge nerd).

 Let me just pull an excerpt from my lore here “Long ago in a distant time, unnatural pestilence consumed a world of peace. Father Arbitor has called upon the forces of the old ones to set this tranquil land a flame. After the burning of Elohim, a once great and powerful city, the people of the Nameless City are called upon as the only warriors brave enough to face Father Arbitor’s hellish army. Through their journey the warriors of the Nameless City will face perils the likes they have never seen. A 6000 year march across arid, decaying, plague lands. Climbing the impossible, the Inverted Mountain, reaching the Nightmare Frontier and facing the end. The orb of power glowing green with madness. What will end the cycle? Is the orb the true evil? Or does evil lie within?”. And yes the “Hound” EP does tie into the full length.

It sets in motion the events as the hooded warriors kill father Arbitors faithful dog, thus starting the war leading up to the burning of Elohim. For those wondering, yes we sampled Bloodborne on 6,000 year march! I love that game!! Where does it sit? To be honest I don’t know, we aren’t really trying to be just one genre. We both love so much music we couldn’t say, but it’s certainly heavy meditative music. We want you to turn it up, smoke it up and feel the sound. Like you would live.

Does anything spring to mind when you think about the completion of your new record and how is the mood in the camp at present?

James: I think I’m just glad to be done with it and I am ready to move forward as a band. The concept of the album was a long and difficult process. We tried to capture as much live magic as possible on the recording because we feel that to experience us fully is to see us live. For the mood band wise I know I’m loving it. We just played some awesome shows in Indianapolis and I got to meet some of the guys in Coffinwormand Gates of Slumber so that was an awesome fan boy moment!!

We have received a lot of positive feedback for our album and we beyond humbled at the reception. I think that Austin has a phenomenal group of musicians that I am proud to call my brothers and sisters. We are all doing so much right now and trying to grow this into something for all of us. It just takes time, but it is a wonderful time to be playing heavy music in ATX and the surrounding area. The Lost Well is our home away from home and we are thankful for it.

Phil: We’ve always respected what each of us brings to the table as artists and humans and I don’t see that changing anytime soon….no matter what life shit happens.

What stands out as your overarching memory from the recording sessions?

James: I think what stands out most for me was how amazing the environment was. We recorded at Tommy Munter’s studio in San Antonio (Matador studios). He is a good friend of Phils and an excellent musician. We did 3 days in the studio and crushed it. I think the moment I knew we were doing something right was that within the first day, at like 6 p.m. the cops came and told us we had to turn down. I almost lost my shit! I couldn’t believe it was really happening, and it just happened to be the night of a crazy storm. My mind was racing and I was thinking well that’s that, were screwed. But the next day we woke up early, moved the bass cab into the bathroom and ripped that puppy a new one.

We recorded all the instrumentation in about a day and a half. Also, what really stood out was how receptive Chris Fielding was to mastering the album! And for him to say he loves the vocals made me swoon! Haha! I run a Matamp GT2 into a Worshiper 4x12and ABY it with a GK 1001 RB into a Worshiper 2x15. I was happy to lay that down as we would live. Phil and I were able to be in the same room while recording so it allowed us to capture the energy we have. We did very little overdubbing.

Phil: The album opener, “Burning of Elohim” had a pretty cool moment in the studio. James and I tracked the album in the room together as we would for our live show and I have a pretty big drum configuration…Ludwig maples, 26 inch kick, 14, 16, 18 toms and a 14x8 steel snare. On the opening tom pattern I’m just beating the living shit out of my floor toms and the air pushing off the drums carried into James guitar pick-ups and created this cool guitar part. We didn’t even realize what happened until playback and James was like, “what the hell guitar part is that”? Of course we kept that magic on the album!

With you new record in the bag, how is your schedule shaping up over the next 12 months?

James: We are planning a 2 week, potentially 3 week tour in April/may (East Coast) and a smaller run with some friends overseas (They want to come here though, we will be in EU asap!) We are going to book a week for the studio this time and that should be right after we come off our 2 week tour. We want the album to really crush, keep some elements of what makes us Monte Luna but always evolve the sound forward and have fun with it! If we aren’t having fun we aren’t a band. We played a great show with Omotai and it felt great to be back home! We hadn’t played TX since June. Our album release shows are coming up on Saturday and we are doing a few dates in December with our friends in Forming the Void!

This year is going to wrap up nicely into a hectic but fun new year. Lets get to Europe sooner rather than later shall we?

Finally, do you have any last words?

James: I’d just like to say that we aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel here. More so, trying to invent an interdimensional space ship.

Phil: I’m going to borrow a quote from my friend Karl Simon (Wretch, Gates of Slumber)…the music’s not too slow, you’re listening too fast. 

The End

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Ether - "There is Nothing Left for Me Here"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 07/07/2017

Label: Dead Truth Recordings |

Southern Druid Records

Ether succeeds at being a heterogeneous strain in the sludge metal pool and how that works for you largely depends on how you like your music, but for those music fanatics who want something quite original in their heavy music. Ether delivers this, and more.

"There is Nothing Left for Me Here" CS//CD//DD//LP track listing

1. For Every Nail a Noose

2. We are the Empty Vessel Where Life Used to Grow

3. Inextricably Bound By The Absence of a Ring     

4. No Gods, All Masters

5. The Burden of Trust

6. Coke Rope

7. Ava Maria of the Lice, of the Snakes, of the Worms

8. The Burden of Hope

9. Fleas of a Rat

The Review:

Can being hard to categorize go wrong? There's something fun to being musically irascible. Yet genres exist for a reason. Enter Ether, which makes a strong case for both sides of that debate.

The Florida band issued an excellent new album, "There is Nothing Left for Me Here," in July. Since then, that release has bubbled just below the surface, winning kudos for its imaginative composition and high quality arrangement. This heavy-based quintet – most of Ether'smembers come from the hardcore band Remembering Never – takes many innovative liberties, as well as incorporates its strongest influences. Ethersucceeds at being a heterogeneous strain in the sludge metal pool. How that works for you largely depends on how you like your music.

To be most direct, what makes "There is Nothing Left for Me Here" such an experience is not just that it has disparate takes within Ether's musicianship. There are several instances where the album feels downright contradictory to what you heard the song before, or even 30 seconds previous in the same track. "For Every Nail a Noose," Ether's opener, gets a prelude with a sample of the voice of jazz/blues icon Billie Holiday, layered with noise rock and fuzz. However, the song is a heady and harrowing hardcore journey for its first minute, until it evolves just after that first minute into a progressive/doom sort of rhythm,, with clean singing, before building back into a heavy groove at about four minutes, then back – with a stringed lead-in – at about six minutes through to the earlier prog blueprint. "We Are the Empty Vessel" has one changeup like this too. Meanwhile, "Inextricably Bound by the Absence of a Ring" gets a moody, slightly folky treatment, with strings and an off-kilter tempo, before jumping into a post-rock and hardcore inflected "No Gods, All Masters." Next cut, "The Burden of Trust," is a slow, pensive instrumental. Get it? There is a great deal about "There is Nothing Left for Me Here" that resists expectations of the sludge/doom categories Etherfinds itself in.

Needless to say, there is a portion of the heavy music fan base that will greatly dislike Ether'sunconventional approach to its album, since songs might feel like they lack consistency. Listening more deeply, though, the common threads, such as Daniel Burger's skillful work on the drums and the range of instruments (band member take credit for the gong, violin and toy piano as well as the usuals), are certain to reel in those music fanatics who want something quite original in their heavy music. Ether delivers this, and more.

You catch embers of acts like Neurosis and Type O Negative in the last third of the album. "Ava Maria of the Lice, of the Snakes, of the Worms" cedes its post-metal riffs after three minutes to a corrosive, slow burn of intense vocals and swirling guitars. This is one of the more estimable cuts on the release. "The Burden of Hope" returns to the brooding instrumentation of earlier, then flows into "Fleas of a Rat."With a post-metal aesthetic, the track, and so much of what Etherdoes, feels ahead of its time.

"There is Nothing Left for Me Here" is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Sator - "Ordeal"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released:01/09/2017

Label: Argonauta Records

Sator keeps you listening with its true-school doom vibe -- not sludge, not stoner, not psychedelic... straight-ahead doom that you've just got to admire.  "Ordeal" is an exemplary entry into the genre, and one that its fans may undoubtedly value.

"Ordeal" CD//DD track listing:

1. Heartache

2. Ordeal

3. Soulride

4. Sky Burial

5. Funeral Pyres

The Review:

Sator is, at first listen, one of those bands you have to step back from to appreciate. Many performers particularly in metal and genres with a devoted fan base face a similar issue. It is incredibly hard to make something that stands out. The conventions of the music are such that true distinctiveness is rare.

The Genoa, Italy trio debuted in 2015 with a self-titled release, drawing a myriad of comparisons including to Neurosis and early Eyehategod. Those are lofty comparisons, perhaps. However, on "Ordeal," Sator manages to buck expectations with an impressive array of guitar attacks that make the material feel energetic. Sator keeps you listening with its true-school doom vibe -- not sludge, not stoner, not psychedelic... straight-ahead doom that you've just got to admire.

"Heartache" opens the release and it is, unsurprisingly, one of the strongest tracks. With a deep bass and drum steering the cut and a titanic guitar riff in the mix, Sator make a good first impression. The vocals are rattling with distortion, which only rachets up the fearful aesthetic. This segues into the title track. The band wrings out of these low notes and turgid bass fixtures a song that, like many songs on the album, offers a story you have to listen for a second time. Part of that is just its atypical vision for arrangement. "Soulride" continues the listening journey and proves a worthy successor. Its start is positively massive in terms of chords, and Sator doesn't let up.

The vocal effects detract at times from the overall arrangement. On lessser recordings, such effects are done to mask deficiencies in range and tonality. You don't walk away with that impression here. Instead the production seems carefully chosen to mesh with the mood of "Ordeal." And what a dense and down mood it is. Every song's tempo gets slower, muddier and more despairing as the record continues. How songs are organized and the progression of feeling that comes with it is one of Sator's strongest points on the album. Tracks get more and more crushing as time moves on, and the result is so very satisfying.

The album closes with "Funeral Pyres," a 15-minute journey that is a smashing closer. While perhaps overlong -- the song would be equally good with 2-4 minutes trimmed away -- the group's willingness to see its concepts through, even when it might be easier to slice up something more accessible, is demonstrative of its commitment to a sincerely doom album. Throughout its peaks and valleys, the final song proves to be a showcase of Sator's best qualities and maybe areas of improvement. Nevertheless "Ordeal" is an exemplary entry into the genre, and one that its fans may undoubtedly value.

"Ordeal" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

INTERVIEW: TarLung - "phlegmatic heaviness from Austria"

By: Stephen Murray

Within six months of forming back in 2013, TarLung had recorded their debut release, seven tracks of fuzzy self-confessed Eyehategod and Church of Misery worship. Yet it took until late last year before the next instalment of tectonic shamanism and their “Void”EP, emerged. Now, after the release of their full-length “Beyond the Black Pyramid”, with a sound so fat it is in danger of not being able to squeeze through your speakers, I threw some questions at Marian, Rotten and Five about what they had been up to in the interim.

Marian [drums]: [The debut] was received very positively, so we just continued with writing stuff, playing shows, and testing the new material in the live setting. It happened quite organically that the tunes got longer, darker and more refined, while of course maintaining the love for the gritty, fuzzy and noisy approach.  So we found ourselves with an extensive bunch of material a year or so after the first release and thought “an in between EP might be in order, but a new full length album is basically there as well…” So in the end we decided to go for one recording session for both EP and new album. And we knew there was a bunch of material, but indeed it was more than 90 minutes in total, which came as a surprise in the end… but we had kept adding parts and going slower, so that just sort of happened!  But yeah, the separation into “Void” tracks being closer to the desert biker blues of the debut and “Beyond the Black Pyramid” consisting of the lengthier, bleaker and more monumental tunes was settled before going into recording.

Rotten [guitars]: In fact we ended up with 20 minutes more than we anticipated before entering the studio.

The sound on “Void” and “Beyond...” feel unified, and distinct from the debut. How did that sound come about? Was it organic? Do you feel Lukas Haidinger captured your sound well? Did the recording process go smoothly?

Rotten: Well, we recorded both releases in a three-day session, so that might give the more unified feel. The decision to hit the Deep Deep Pressure studio again was an easy one for us as Lukas is a good friend and he recorded our debut as well. He understands what sound we are going after, as he is active in numerous bands including the Austrian sludge outfit Underground Groove Front (check them out, they are awesome!).  Thanks to Lukas' great work, he was able to record all our songs live and in three or less takes per song. Recording with him is smooth and doesn't feel like hard work at all. There was always a relaxed atmosphere in the studio, despite the burning hot weather, and we are very happy how he captured our sound. This time we also used different amps than the first time, mainly an Orange Rockerverb MK I and an old Laney AOR– these got the job done alongside cool fuzz and effect pedals to spice things up.

Marian: Yeah, it was a great recording experience, but a full day of live tracking drums in the midsummer heat in a rooftop studio was indeed quite demanding… I was holding up somehow during playing, but after each take I got quite close to passing out, drenched in sweat. Mmmh, I must have smelled really good!

Five [bass]: Working with Lukas is definitely a pleasure. It's like recording in your own living room, but a lot hotter and louder. Lukas is also hugely technically adept in what he is doing; he knows his recording stuff. We pretty much just said how we would like to sound and that it should capture our on-stage performances – that was enough for him to create a blueprint for our sound on the album.

“Beyond...” really feels like a full-length. There seems to be a trend now of albums being shorter. I wonder if that is to accommodate vinyl's time limitations now that more bands have gone back to offering that format. What are your thoughts on that? Do you feel bands should be offering more from their releases? What do you hope to offer your audience when you set out to craft, record and release?

Marian:Yeah, actually we would have loved to put out “Beyond the Black Pyramid”on vinyl! Of course there is some sort of hipster hype about that format, but I personally love to spin some wax; it’s just a more intimate way to pay respect to your favourite artists. Alas, with 66 minutes running time, “Beyond the Black Pyramid” would have had to be a double LP, so in the end the cost factor was too off-putting for us. So it came to be good old CD format and bandcamp, and Black Bow Records did the digital release on other platforms like iTunes and Amazon for us – courtesy of Jon Davis of the mighty Conan. Thanks, man!

But maybe, if there is the demand, we still could get this record onto wax. Still would very much like to do it!

But about the running time: as mentioned before, it wasn’t really a conscious decision, it just happened… and we had to roll with it! There are great albums around the half hour mark which feel complete as they are, but others just need the long running time… Sleep’s “Jerusalem”, Neurosis’ “Times of Grace”, Electric Wizard’s “Dopethrone”… so while not wanting to compare us with those giants of heavy music, we hope that “Beyond the Black Pyramid”feels like a long, exhausting march through the searing desert, full of hallucinatory demons and visions of doom, which is just as long as it needs to be!

Rotten:If there is a big enough demand for a “Beyond...” vinyl we might give you one in the future, maybe with a preorder of some sort. Also the whole artwork Alex Eckman-Lawn did for us is intended to be used for a vinyl release.

Five:As Marian said, there are shorter and there are longer records, really depends on the music and the artist. While writing, for example, ‘The Prime of Your Existence’, I was well aware that this is now a >10 minute song. If I would get bored playing that song again and again, for example in band rehearsals, then there is something wrong with it. Cut it, make a riff shorter, whatever. But so far I did not have this feeling yet on any of the longer songs of the album. I can still get into a delirium-like state while playing the longer riffs, and that's really important to keep up your excitement. I hope it stays that way.

From the debut there were always elements of a kind of melodic doom, but how much do you think “Beyond...” now leans towards minor melodies rather than bluesy licks to communicate its bleak bitterness?

Marian:I like to believe it was an organic transition, TarLungstill sound like TarLung, but we have definitely shifted a bit from the NOLA style ‘slow man’s blues-punk’ towards a somewhat darker approach. I also think this matches the stories the songs tell, but apart from a few more ‘fun’ tracks like ‘Space Caravan’ the darkness has already been there on our debut: It was not so much ‘Drinking and smoking are fun!’, but more ‘Drinking and smoking might be fun, but you will fucking die.’ The same goes for the themes of apathy, misery and depression – but they emerged more clearly in the image of the Black Pyramid, which is of course a Lovecraftian motif, but at least for me also a strong symbol for personal struggle… but it is about going “Beyond the Black Pyramid”, not about wallowing in constant self pity, but about trying to overcome the misery, while maintaining that life will always contain its fair share of gloom.

Rotten:The whole lyrics of the song “Beyond The Black Pyramid” are also loosely based on different Lovecraft stories. For me the change was something that came naturally and wasn't intentional at all. I guess we just got more pissed off, or got a more disillusioned look on life as we got older.

Five:The debut album was, in general, a lot simpler. The rhythms are faster, there are much more accessible melodies, and the songs are much shorter. The tracks on the debut album were mostly pretty old ideas, from even before TarLung really existed.  Between the birth of TarLung and the creation of “Beyond the Black Pyramid” we had a lot of time to grow as musicians. Speaking for myself, I have gained a lot of experience playing the guitar and using my vocals.  Meaning that as you get better as a musician, you can use your tools in different ways than you would have ever expected. The message of our music pretty much stays the same, but the language on how we communicate that message changed a bit. Maybe we'll speak a completely different musical-language on our next record. Who knows.

What have your adventures outside Austria been like? Do you find playing shows further afield easy for you or a challenge? Have you noticed a difference in how you are received in different places?

Rotten:So far we only had the chance to play in Germany.  I think our music is received quite well in most places and the audience always treated us well.  We had to take trains for most gigs outside of Vienna as none of us owns a car right now. It might not be the easiest way to do shows but our love for playing loud music for a crowd is bigger than the challenge of public transportation. But I'm sure we will be able to hit the road with a van sometime in the future to play more shows and hopefully visit more countries and meet many more people.

Marian:Würzburg was great both times, never seen an audience so drunk and wild! Cheers and thanks to Tommy Hellfighter, our good friend and supporter. And yeah, shout out to promoters all over Europe and the world: We want to play your miserable hellhole, get in touch, we want to make it happen!

Do you think stoner rock and sludge can exist without the influence of drugs? How much of TarLung's aesthetic is drugs based? Do drugs make for more creative work, or do they limit thinking and musical expression?

Rotten:For me drugs (including legal ones like alcohol or tobacco) aren't an important part of my life, and I think you don't need a mind altering substance to enjoy or write good music. I don't even get drunk before hitting the stage, maybe one or two beers but that's it for me. After the show I more than once got pretty shitfaced and we all had our fair share of partying so far.

Marian:Drugs are definitely a big and important part in underground music, a symbol for not wanting to be confined by the rules of the mainstream society, for separating yourself. But it really depends then – drug culture can become sort of conservative and restricting in its own way. So as much as I love Electric Wizard, Sleep and the likes: You are not automatically making great music just because you are stoned, and you don’t necessarily need to be stoned to enjoy “Jerusalem” or “Dopethrone”. TarLung is about a reality that is there, people doing what they do, partying and suffering. Not condemning it, but not glorifying it, either. In the end, what remains from all the highs is a bunch of tar in your lungs. That is the way of the world. A strange place to be, a strange life to live… but definitely better if you got some really heavy tunes to accompany your existence!

Five:I don't think that drugs are needed in any situation, especially for something creative like music, to really enjoy it. If I can only deeply listen to a particular record under the influence, then the record is probably not that good. Drugs may alter the experience of art, but I personally enjoy, for example, Doom Metal or a good book just as much without any mind altering substances.  I never understood bands who openly celebrate or promote drug use on stage. I don't actually mind it, as it's really none of my business what they do on stage, but this kind of music can be much more than just a drug induced fever dream. Having a few beers before stage time to get into a relaxed mood, and maybe one more beer on the stage to keep the throat moistened, is enough for me. After we've done our set, there's usually enough time left to really start partying.

I personally have never gotten intentionally "high" to write songs. In fact, I think I've never written any song under the influence of drugs. I like to focus on what I'm currently doing – if I'm sitting down to write a song or some riffs, I'm doing exactly that. Our band rehearsals are also usually very straight-forward: a few hours of focused music playing and song inventing. This seems to work quite well for us.  This doesn't mean that drugs are generally bad for doing creative stuff. Of course not. But for me personally it doesn't really go together. Better keep the fun stuff for after the work is done. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, as we all know.

The End

Band info: bandcamp || facebook