VIDEO PREMIERE: French blackened sludgecore purveyors ERLEN MEYER debut Coton Cardé

So far this year I have listened to 3-4 great records and I can safely say that the fierce French blackened sludge-core purveyors ERLEN MEYER have arguably released my favourite record of 2018 so far.  Yes it is only 10 days old, but 2019 is going off with a fucking bang and on January, 25^th of 2019 Argonauta Records are on the verge of releasing the best album of their long discography so far.

 On 'Sang et Or', the French-based power quintet’s sophomore continues the experience of a concept that is paying tribute to the dark novels of Agatha Christie and the spine-chilling stories of Alfred Hitchcock. ERLEN MEYER are breaking boundaries of the monolithic and the crushing, mixing the sludge and Hardcore styles it won fame for, to deliver a devastating and utterly captivating record.

Today, THE SLUDGELORD is sharing a brand new video and the opening cut taken from their upcoming album! Watch and listen to the album opening track 'Coton Cardé' below.  Turn it up and watch your speakers die.  Tres bien ERLEN MEYER!!! Coming as CD and Digital Download formats on January 25^th 2019, album pre-orders are now available HERE

Band info: facebook

ALBUM PREMIERE: LOIMANN deliver a crushing and extreme doom metal beast with 'A Voluntary Lack of Wisdom'

Post-Doom Metal unit LOIMANN are about to celebrate the release of their third full length album titled 'A Voluntary Lack of Wisdom' this Friday, November 9^th on Argonauta Records.

Formed in 2001 but under the major influences of desert rock bands alike Kyuss, Fu Manchu or Monster Magnet, LOIMANN's sound evolved over the years for a more doom and heavy psych approach. Recorded at O.F.F. Studios in Torino, Italy, during the summer of 2017 with Paul Beauchamp and Salvo Arico (Marmore/Khoy), the band's new work partially changed into the direction compared to their previous records, with a more direct and easy listening sound while never losing their heaviness. With 'A Voluntary Lack of Wisdom', LOIMANN deliver a crushing and extreme doom metal sludgecore beast with big harmonies to be stuck in your head! Find it out yourself, as today LOIMANN stream their brand new record in its entirely and exclusively with us at THE SLUDGELORD.  Now turn it up and let your speakers die!!

The album is available at Argonauta Recordsat THIS location

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Sumac. "Love In Shadow"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 21/09/2018

Label: Thrill Jockey Records

With “Love In Shadow” Sumac take further giant steps into the heavy unknown with glorious results. No-one else comes close to achieving the balance of razor-sharp precision and intoxicating chaos on display here which edges the band closer to being the finest project in these incredible musicians’ illustrious careers.

“Love In Shadow” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1). The Task

2). Attis’ Blade

3). Arcing Silver

4). Ecstasy of Unbecoming

The Review:   

The dust has barely settled from the sensory overload of Sumac’s intense improv blow-out with Keiji Haino earlier in 2018. Now the fearsome trio are back with their third proper full-length “Love In Shadow”. 

This is a dense and initially daunting record. Comprised of four mind-boggling complex tracks, ranging from the relatively brisk twelve minutes of “Arcing Silver” to the massive opening statement of “The Task” which slowly unfurls over twenty-two hypnotic minutes, “Love In Shadow” is not an easy ride but hugely rewarding. Every listen reveals new details of these mammoth compositions and it is easy to imagine more coming to light countless spins down the line.

“The Task” immediately finds Sumacin full flow, negotiating a tumbling noise rock landscape, crushingly heavy with a coarse serrated edge. The track evolves reverse to expectations, beginning with a clanging cacophony then slowly getting quieter and quieter until it reaches its conclusion. This makes for an intriguing journey and finds the band breaking exciting new sonic ground. As the volume and complexity dwindles, the music becomes more captivating as it moves into a sparse one note dirge, led first by Aaron Turner’s crackling guitar then by Brian Cook’s seismic bass. This acts as a backdrop for Turner to take an extended, improvised clean solo that has a disorientating jazz feel reminiscent of the weirder moments of their collaboration with Haino. This is the first instance of Sumacallowing their growing power as an improvisational force come to the fore on “Love In Shadow” to great effect. Just when you think “The Task” has nothing left to give, it moves into a haunting end section comprised of just keyboards and Turner’s lone wounded bark. It is the most affecting moment on the record and brings to mind Harvey Milk at their bleakest.

“Attis’ Blade” kicks off in classic Sumacfashion with Turner clanging out a driving one chord attack that sets the tone for a pummelling rhythm section accompaniment. The band’s focused onslaught is interrupted by a shift into a passage of electrifying free-form molten improvisation. Throughout all of their albums to date, the superhumanly tight musicianship of Sumacas they navigate labyrinthine riff constructions has been almost terrifying to behold. This is still evident throughout “Love In Shadow” but it is the uncanny almost telepathic connection between these three players as they destroy conventional forms that yields the records highlights. Nick Yacyshyn somehow manages to lay down rhythms that work as a solid foundation for Aaron Turner’s wild unhinged guitar outbursts while simultaneously shifting and lurching to their own unpredictable tempo. Brian Cook operates in the middle ground between these two mighty forces, relishing the freedom to lay down a thick layer of restless low-end carnage. The track shifts back into a menacing noise rock grind as it winds its way to its conclusion, all the more effective in contrast to the roiling din from which it was born.

Cook’s relentless one note riff jerks “Arcing Silver” into life, an uneasy, menacing groove that somehow manages to keep building up tension throughout the majority of its duration. When it finally breaks into furious blastbeats and feral roars at its climax, the effect is exhilarating. This demonstrates Sumac’s ability to judge when it is best to take a direct, bludgeoning path rather than opt for the more torturous route. Another example of this is in “Ecstasy of Unbecoming” when Turner’s searing solo fretboard meltdown is mowed down by the band ripping into their approximation of driving dumb punk rock. 

With “Love In Shadow” Sumactake further giant steps into the heavy unknown with glorious results. No-one else comes close to achieving the balance of razor-sharp precision and intoxicating chaos on display here which edges the band closer to being the finest project in these incredible musicians’ illustrious careers. 

“Love In Shadow” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: LLNN, "Deads"

By: Mark Ambrose


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released:27/04/2018

Label: Pelagic Records

 

Whatever discomfort mounts when you listen to “Deads” there’s always a filthy, churning riff or shouted chorus to tug you back towards the joy of top notch music that will probably be blasting through your speakers for the next decade

 

“Deads”CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Despots

2. Parallels

3. Armada

4. Civilizations

5. Appeaser

6. Deplete

7. Structures

8. Deads

 

The Review:

            

It was over a decade ago that I first listened to Deadguy’s “Fixation on a Coworker” – one of the most apt distillations of workday despair I’d ever encountered.  Nihilistic, acidic, indignant at the situation everyone grinding their lives away in corporate America, the sole full-length was already a decade old.  Yet with the 2008 financial crisis on the horizon, my time at college done, and my life consumed by a middling, frustrating job, it felt like it could have been created mere weeks before for an audience of one.   Listening now is both a nostalgic, infuriating experience, because it seems just as prescient over two decades from its inauspicious debut.  If anything, the only marker of “Fixation on a Coworker” that makes it the odd product of the pre-impeachment Clinton 90s is the personal, rather than global, politics of its running obsessions.  Yet no band had as succinctly captured capitalism-gone-haywire nightmares as Deadguy… at least until LLNN’s “Deads”.

A cinematic, ambient introduction sets up an auditory sucker punch from track 1, “Despots”.  Vocalist/guitarist Christian Bonnensen snarls invective like a bedraggled street prophet: “Walk through life with a single purpose. Shirt collar tightens like a fucking noose.  True purpose lies in never punching out.”  For those who have checked work e-mail during a midnight piss, or a vacation, or major life crisis, the words feel equally sympathetic and accusatory.  The rhythm combo of Rasmus Furbo’s monolithic bass and Rasmus G. Serjensen’s drum work convey hardcore ferocity and metal technicality.  On tracks like “Parallels”, there’s a really interesting dynamic between Bonnensen’s guitar and Ketel G. Sejersen’s synth work – it’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.  It’s obvious when Sejersen goes off on an interlude (“Civilizations”) or incorporates sampling into “Armada,” but the heavily processed tones of Bonnensen’s guitar make it sound like a dual synth line, while the distortions on the synth push the instrument to its heavy extremes.

On perhaps my favorite track, “Appeaser”, LLNNwrests free of my Deadguy comparison by imbuing their personal politics with global dread.  The apocalyptic scream of “Skies fall and the fire cleanses in its wake / Run amok / The world is yours to take,” is chilling in ways both sublime and terrifying.  The slow ramping up of dread, the tightening of musical tension, makes “Appeaser” a truly devastating masterpiece.  And for all the cinematic, intellectual, or political subtlety on display, the closer “Deads” reiterates the simple power this four-piece can wield with a quiet/loud dynamic and pummeling guitar riffs.  Whatever discomfort mounts when I listen to “Deads” – capitalist existential dread, political despair, the fear that humanity is teasing out its final days destroying the planet – there’s always a filthy, churning riff or shouted chorus to tug me back towards the joy of top notch music that, like “Fixation on a Coworker”, will probably be blasting through my speakers in a decade… barring any catastrophes to match LLNN’slyrical horrors.

“Deads” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Iron Monkey, "9-13"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Relapse Records

"9-13" offers a shredding sludge attack and is a violent rejoinder of why Iron Monkey got its reputation as a doom/sludge vanguard. All these years later, Iron Monkey remains gritty and uncompromising. Predictions for a return were invariably high. "9-13" does not blow those expectations out of the water. Nor does Iron Monkey disappoint. For that, there's much to smile about.

“9-13” CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Crown of Electrodes

2. OmegaMangler           

3. 9-13

4. Toadcrucifier - R.I.P.PER

5. Destroyer

6. Mortarhex

7. The Rope

8. Doomsday Impulse Multiplier

9. Moreland St. Hammervortex

The Review:

Sterling though it is, Iron Monkey has a name circulated mostly through lore. Its 1996 EP and 1998 full-length, honestly, came out when a fair number of metal fans were children. Of those consciously watching sludge metal at the time, scores of acts have since surpassed Iron Monkey and its sparse output. Yet the notoriety of the band has lingered. Its brash and unfiltered metal through the lungs of vocalist Johnny Morrow was, for many, that blending of punk and metal that ensembles like Crassor 45 Gravewere for fans in respective decades previous. Not that the UK crew gained those levels of recognition, or are anywhere the same, but you get the idea: something with an appeal that set it apart from others. After Iron Monkeyfaded with the untimely death of Morrowin 2002, you could assume the boys from Nottinghamwould be little more than a faded memory or trivia at a punk club's quiz night.

Not so fast.

Following a nearly 20-year break hastened by the death of its lead singer, Iron Monkeyreturn to take up the accolades the group never received in its heyday. Implausible though that comeback might be its new release, "9-13," rolls up to make a claim for the throne.

Returns like this can be a controversial business at times. Here, founding members Jim Rushby, on guitars and vocal duties, and bassist Steve Watson are back in place, but original drummer Justin Greaves has bowed out. The new Iron Monkey has opted to go it as a trio, replacing Greaves with Scott Briggs, one of the former drummers of Bristol hardcore legends Chaos UK.No Greaves and no original singer may prompt some gnashing of teeth from the outset. Yet having Bushby and Watson, who were nevertheless architects of the band's grimy sludge metal clatter, may keep you curious enough to give "9-13" your full attention.

With the opener, "Crown of Electrodes," you are left with the clear impression that Iron Monkey is rejoining us largely as a punk act. No bones about it that there's plenty of sludge and grind in this corybantic gruel. Still, in what could be Briggs' influence or a new direction decades on, there is irrefutably a hardcore tension in the All Pigs Must Die vein here. Some might criticize Iron Monkey for this or the vocals, which tend to be an echo of Morrow. However, all things change and, to tell the truth, this may be the first real introduction to Iron Monkeya lot of people have had. You can judge this on the strength of "9-13" alone and step away gratified.

There are a few near missteps. "Toadcrucifier - R.I.P.PER" opens with 30 seconds of pointless guitar feedback – although feedback starting "The Rope"is equally unlistenable. Fortunately enough, Iron Monkey makes up for it by delivering a crushing cut that pours on the aggression. The title selection before it uses the same feedback affectation, but similarly the trio redeems itself by serving up a whip tight track of metal-infused punk. In fact, the guitar feedback bit is used on several more songs; it can be cute for the new high school metal band, but gives "9-13" an 'out of ideas' vibe that is unnecessary. In fact, Iron Monkey's layoff has not left members bereft of passion or ideas. The group feels potent and ready to meet both new fans and skeptics. You just wish these small things did not detract from such a dexterous and forceful performance.

"9-13" offers plenty for veteran fans, such as "Doomsday Impulse Multiplier," a shredding sludge attack and the closing, "Moreland St. Hammervortex," which is a violent rejoinder of why Iron Monkey got its reputation as a doom/sludge vanguard. All these years later, Iron Monkey remains gritty and uncompromising. Predictions for a return were invariably high. "9-13" does not blow those expectations out of the water. Nor does Iron Monkey disappoint. For that, there's much to smile about.

"9-13" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Mastiff - "Bork" (EP)

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: EP

Date Released:31/08/2017

Label: APF Records

The abrasiveness of the tracks is exceptional. Whatever you call it, this follow up to their 2016 debut "Wrank" is uncannily brutal. Cuts like "Nil By Mouth" and "Everything Equals Death" are chainsaws of sound, ripping into your head in ways you did not expect

"Bork" CD//DD track listing

1. Agony

2. Nil By Mouth

3. Everything Equals Death

4. Threats

5. Tumour

6. Eternal Regret

The Review:

There is so much to appreciate of artful metal and extreme music with a vision. Literally dozens of metal albums in 2017 have come to you with a message, a profound social commentary or literary and/or historical concept at its core.

Kingston Upon Hull, UK's Mastiffare not one of those bands. Mastiff lowers the sonic boom with angst and decibels. And it will give you a new appreciation for the sheer levels the band takes both.

On their new release, "Bork,"the British group, which bills itself as doing an aggressive form of sludge, drills you with a sound so fierce that you just do not hear often, even in metal. You may not be sure where the sludge notion came from because "Bork" is as far from it as you can find. "Bork" is as methodical as any sludge classic in this sense. However, the sophomore recording by Mastifffeels more like an especially nihilistic form of thrash or hardcore. The abrasiveness of the tracks is exceptional. Whatever you call it, this follow up to their 2016 debut "Wrank"is uncannily brutal. With During the opening "Agony" and throughout this record, vocalist Jim Hodges and the band are inconsolably anguished. You hear fury and pain in every note.

Extreme music takes vocalists to limits few of us could even imagine testing our voices. Hodges is truly spectacular, literally killing each song with his inconsolable wail. At every turn, he seems to be giving everything he can to every note, and one has to wonder if there is a breaking point. However, Mastiffcan offer range beyond growling. A song like "Eternal Regret" is a departure that Hodges simply outshines almost any other metal vocalist on. He's the centerpiece of this black orchestra, though the players all make it a happy torture throughout.

Mastiff's sound could seemingly only be this loud with two guitarists, and Phil Johnson and James Andrew Lee fulfill their roles with aplomb. Cuts like "Nil By Mouth" and "Everything Equals Death" are chainsaws of sound, ripping into your head in ways you did not expect. Mastiff has gotten a live reputation for its volume and the heaviness of its music. "Bork"does a great deal to confirm those reviews.

Fortunately enough, Mastiffis expected to hit the road in the near future. A performance of the songs on "Bork" done live is assuredly going to be a flailing and fun experience.

"Bork"is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Houston, TX sludge thug newcomers Pyreship deliver post metal rage and an unhealthy dose of sludgecore on "Gravity"

Houston sludge thugs Pyreship, expertly blend post-metal and doom with a raft of 90's slowcore and noise rock influences. Comprised of four road-hardened musicians, Pyreship's songs are reflective of their formative environment - stripped-down, unpretentious, and resilient.

Live, the music is meant to be both heard and felt, with Steve Smith's relentless jackhammer beats melding seamlessly with the molten slag spilling out of George Lusito's bass amp.  Co-guitarists Jason Jordan and Sam Waters stoke the bellows.  Pyreship is one of the few remaining bands running an unapologetically monolithic backline.  They use it to slam out slow, deliberate riffs that resonate long after the show has ended and the crowd dispersed.

A new addition to the every expanding Black Bow Recordsroster, Pyreship’s debut album “The Liars Bend Low” will be released digitally and on limited vinyl on May 26th 2017.  Today you can exclusively stream “Gravity” below, so if you’re a fan of KINGS X, SOUNDGARDEN, PALLBEARER, ISIS be sure to give this band some love. 

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Weltesser - "Crestfallen"

By:  Grim Trashcan

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/01/2016

Label: Prosthetic Records

Weltesser magnificently blends elements of old-school sludge/punk sensibilities and white hot riff-manipulation with the precise amount of drawn out feedback manipulation that more than harshes your fucking mellow - it pisses all over it.

“Crestfallen” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Regret

2). Guide

3). Living to Try

4). Terminal

5). Rats

6). Crestfallen

The Review:

Full disclosure folks: I pre-ordered the physical release of this album based off one preview track months ago. Let your assumptions fly and cast your cynical flavor over this entire review if you must. That being said, "Crestfallen" by Weltesseris such a fucking banger on so many crucial levels - subjective bias can be blindly removed from the equation. 

On to more important matters: Sour Diesel. The promo sticker on this record makes mention of it in a phrase stating "fueled by sour diesel and misery". Perfect in such non-ironic fashion. When I think of the many strains of cannabis and the resulting psychoactive effects of each specific phenotype, sativa stands out as the intellectual, introspective, active cerebral champion of creativity and focus. A cleansing, rejuvenating experience that sort of hits the reset button on the stagnation of couch-locked pain mitigation and life's daily aches and woes. I'm looking at you, Indica. Weed references aside, Weltesser magnificently blends elements of old-school sludge/punk sensibilities and white hot riff-manipulation with the precise amount of drawn out feedback manipulation that more than harshes your fucking mellow - it pisses all over it. 

Listening to this, I can draw some similarities to old -(16)- material, sort of. There's an aggression here that is apparent but it comes off more frustrated and finite as opposed to raw and unbridled. The guitar tone skirts the plane between caustic mid-ranged savagery within the riff dynamic and then it gets accompanied by what sounds like another guitar but is actually the bass providing bright swaths of feedback manipulation in breakdowns and transitions. Other times, the roles are cleverly reversed while the bass slams along on a trance inducing pattern and the guitar screams the complimentary sirens. The opposing dynamics offer pretty much the space and breathing room for the drummer to handle his role in perfectly understated and civilized fashion, sneaking in high-hat commas and periods on groove based sentences. Dynamics in dissonance. Emphasis on feel and timing. No more is that expressed in the title track at the very end of the record. As a complete listening experience - it seems like the relatively quickly moving tracks lead you to the final push that is "Crestfallen". 

The entire album tears along at such a perfect pace, with catch your breath moments that get growl-howled over like the stand out stretch that occurs early on in the track "Guide". Yelled melody with a deliverance that conveys more than anger- seemingly cathartic release. The transition from the ending of that song into "Living to Try" should be a case-study example for all aspiring sonic dark sorcerers in how to draw in pure shadow. This doesn't sound like misery and doom for the sake of being miserable and doomed. It sounds like an anxious spirit trying to navigate the crumbling, failing nature of existence and interaction within either itself or its surroundings. We've all been there. One too many edibles in a social setting and your soul literally shudders from its own presence. 

An overview at the lyric sheet/insert that accompanied this record revealed much more to me than I had expected. As sort of a mission statement or parameter setting series of phrases the group has decided to share some words of wisdom to the listener: "It is hard to desire consciousness. Watching people live their lives, fighting tirelessly for a home that has already been wasted. It's exhausting. Constantly checking myself, constantly working for a better stay, but it will never be better. The redundancy of our music, of our words, is to push this subject. It will never be better. You will always be working on yourself. You will always be anxious and alone. Your friends and family mean nothing. You'll amount to nothing. Remember that." 

Got it? In case you forget, you can get re-assured by the final and my favorite experience on this offering - the epic 8 minute title track.   From silence barks out pretty much the over-arcing theme and value of this record - dealing with life as it is presented to you. To literally live in your anxieties because ultimately you'll amount to nothing. Also on display during this last song is the bands talent at locking in those perfectly synchronized, sort of abstract feedback moments that if not handled properly or overdone by some could border on obnoxious or pretentious. Not so in this application at all.

This record is great and you should buy it. Not because I said so, but because you need to hear this. It's something new on so many levels and if it doesn't serve to help you question what this proposed genre is doing or can be capable of - then I feel bad for you. I'm glad this album exists. When it ends I literally take a deep breath and feel as if the band has helped me take it. A reset button on stagnation and couch-lock. 

“Crestfallen” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook