REVIEW: Windhand & Satan's Satyrs - "Windhand & Satan's Satyrs Split"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Split LP

Date Released: 16/02/2018

Label: Relapse Records

This is two bands at the top of their game, producing some of their finest work to date

“Windhand & Satan’s Satyrs Split” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Windhand – “Old Evil”

2). Windhand – “Three Sisters”

3). Satan’s Satyrs – “Alucard AD 2018”

4). Satan’s Satyrs – “Succubus”

5). Satan’s Satyrs – “Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Baby”

The Review:

I was lucky enough to catch Windhand and Satan's Satyrs playing together when they toured the UK at the end of 2017. At the time I didn't quite see the kinship between the two bands, but thanks to this new Relapse Records split release, the connection is now somewhat clearer to me.

On first listen Windhand’s opener, “Old Evil”, sounds like a track straight off of “Griefs Infernal Flower” (and that’s definitely no bad thing). Further plays however, reward the listener with something that’s actually a few degrees heavier, and tighter than the content of the 2015 album. Essentially it’s like the most Windhand that Windhand have ever been; they are well and truly on point here. “Three Sisters” is built around one simple and massive riff, with added keyboard gloom courtesy of Jonathan Kassilow (of Sinister Haze and former Windhand Split-buddies Cough). The track is staggeringly doomy: lumbering and powerful and miserable, and pretty fucking wonderful overall.

“Alucard A.D.” starts things off on the Satan’s Satyrs half of the record, and it does so in heavy style. Now previously, thanks to their 2015 album “Don’t Deliver Us”, I thought of Satan’s Satyrs as a kind of Glam Punk retro rock kind of band, but that’s not what they sound like here. This is juicy, juicy stuff which reminds more than a little of Electric Wizard’s “We, The Undead”, in the best possible way. 

“Succubus” follows on wonderfully well with a main riff that’s both doomy and kind of cheeky and funny. There’s more than a hint of NWOBHM in the guitar work, and the whole thing just slots together in such a way that, even after several listens, still hasn’t failed to put a smile on my face. Closer “Aint That Lovin’ You Baby” is much more in line with my previous expectations with regard to Satan’s Satyrs. It’s a sleazy 12 bar blues that clicks into double-time half way through before going down in a blaze of Cock Rock guitar solos. Claythanas'/Clayton Burgess' shout of “thank you, goodnight!” is all that’s really missing from the end of this obvious set-closer.

Sometimes these split EPs can feel a bit like filler between “proper” releases; songs that didn’t make it on to the main record, or versions of some work in progress that’s not yet quite come together. That is definitely not the case with this Windhand / Satan's Satyrs release however. This is two bands at the top of their game, producing some of their finest work to date. So much so in the case of Satan's Satyrs that

I’m really regretting missing the beginning of their set back in October.

“Windhand & Satan’s Satyrs Split” is available here

Band info: Windhand || Satan’s Satyrs

REVIEW: Slabdragger/Wren - “Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” [Split]

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Split 12”

Date Released: 27/10/2017

Label: Holy Roar Records

Both bands deliver the best kind of cover version; one that takes the source material and imbues it with their own unique spirit to create something new and exciting.  An essential purchase for any fans of the UK heavy underground and maybe it’ll turn some old Zappa and Beefheart heads towards the sludgier side of life too

“Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Slabdragger – “Muffin Man”

2). Wren – “Electricity”

The Review:

Slabdragger and Wren are a formidable duo of UK riff merchants. Bringing together the two slowest and heaviest bands on Holy Roar to unleash a split 12” leads to exactly the mighty results you would expect. What is less expected is that these behemoths manage to create characteristically earth-shaking offerings in the form of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart covers.

Both bands deliver the best kind of cover version; one that takes the source material and imbues it with their own unique spirit to create something new and exciting. Slabdragger take Frank Zappa’sone riff wonder “Muffin Man” and throw in a filthy radioactive swamp, only to have it emerge as a mutant city-levelling Godzilla. The track is a perfect blend of modern dirty sludge and retro jam band freedom. This ten minute monster is bookended by classic monolithic Slabdragger riffage while the middle section sees them really channelling the spirit of Zappa with every band member getting a solo.

While Slabdragger offer up a cover that sticks structurally and sonically close to the original, Wren’s take on Captain Beefheart’s “Electricity”is a different beast. The original song is one of the notoriously difficult Beefheart’s catchiest numbers, three minutes of raw, warped funk. Wren take the source material and twist into a new dark form that stretches over eight dark and powerful minutes. If you listen closely you can hear the parts of “Electricity” that Wren have dragged out to create a sinister post-metal epic that would fit in seamlessly on their amazing “Auburn Rule” LP. The hypnotic elastic groove of the original is transformed into a huge lumbering riff that ushers in the tracks punishing climax.

This is a fine split from two awesome bands on crushing form. An essential purchase for any fans of the UK heavy underground and maybe it’ll turn some old Zappa and Beefheart heads towards the sludgier side of life too.

“Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” is available here

Band info: Slabdragger || Wren

REVIEW: Fister & CHRCH - Fister/CHRCH (Split LP)

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type:Split

Date Released:17/11/2017

Label: Battleground Records |

Crown & Throne Ltd

Over the course of nearly forty minutes, CHRCH and Fister, employing different sonic palettes and lineups, craft a perfect split for the moment: unholy, polluted, funereal and dismal – a requiem for humanity’s end times that is as beautiful as it is ugly.

“Fister/CHRCH” DD//LP track listing

1. CHRCH– “Temples”

2. Fister– “The Ditch”

The Review

Let’s talk metal review terminology.  Like so many fellow travelers in the trenches of modern heavy music, I find myself having to crack open a thesaurus to praise a new release and not fall upon my tried and true descriptors: punishing, brutal, transcendent, dissonant, complex, or simply “heavy as fuck”.  It’s a problem as old as criticism itself, intensified in a modern context because the aporia between “not listened” and “listened” is practically non-existent; if you have a few minutes and a smart phone you can listen to practically any piece of music ever created.  The role of the blogger or critic or (cringe) “rock journalist”, then is perhaps to magnify the relevant, the underrepresented, or the overlooked – maybe to shout down the pretenders and opportunists – and to still offer some enthusiastic “fuck yeahs” when nothing else will suffice.

So is the latest split from CHRCH and Fister a brutal, transcendent, dissonant, punishing slab of metal?  Fuck yeah it is.  Perhaps more exceptionally, it exemplifies the core sublime element of metal: sustained tension.  Over the course of nearly forty minutes, CHRCHand Fister, employing different sonic palettes and lineups, craft a perfect split for the moment: unholy, polluted, funereal and dismal – a requiem for humanity’s end times that is as beautiful as it is ugly.

Sacramento’s CHRCHare akin to a dual guitar wielding cousin to Bell Witch, painting in the same inverted sacral tones as the rightfully lauded duo.  The reverb heavy guitar and bass intro of their track, “Temples” has similar sonic qualities as the ‘Witch, but when the drums, vocals, and distortion kick in, CHRCH establishes itself as a five-headed beast.  For all the layers of dissonance seething under the surface of “Temples”, there is remarkable harmony between the dual guitars of Chris and Karl, buoyed by the rhythmic interplay of Ben and Adam.  If there was any hope or positivity in the harmonies at work in “Temples”, lead vocalist Eva lays waste with every rasped line and tortured shriek.  A haunting spoken word middle cemented the image of an unholy evangelist in my head, spewing atrocities before sliding into more subdued, but perhaps even more sinister homilies.  The nasty, sludgy closing section amps up the tension – mutating and evolving before collapsing into the same ethereal opening riff.  This return to origins creates a kind of time dilation effect, where 17 minutes seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.  It makes it that much easier to revisit “Temples” and discover new dark alcoves within.

With “The Ditch” Fister offers a mirror image to CHRCH’sharmonies and emotive reverb, screeching into life like a genetic hybrid birthed into a gutter.  Bassist Snarzyk’s vocals are fascinating in the same way watching a hook suspension performance is fascinating: it’s an uncanny glimpse at the human instrument’s capacity for punishment.  Snarzyk traverses every register, from low end growl to high end shriek, absolutely shredding his throat and the listeners’ ears with ever syllable.  The relentless six-minute assault of static and feedback makes Newstead’s tremolo guitar solo a nearly welcome respite, until he too pulls the rug out and pushes the sound back into harsh dissonance.  A long, nearly ambient bridge is a mercy, and amplifies the already unbearable tension.  When Fister launches back in, with Kirk Gatterer’s leviathan drum bashing and the screamed vocals now layered in a demonic choir of anguish, the feeling is nearly existential: there is no escape from the imminent rupture ahead.

Once again, it’s nearly impossible to praise these aural monuments to entropy without offering the same descriptors I give a lot of my favorite listens.  But perhaps it’s because these exceptional groups are pulling out the core anxieties of our present.  From spiritual collapse to relentless violence, CHRCHand Fisterare excavating the temples and ditches of the metal underground.  Experienced together, they serve as a perfect soundtrack to our culture of perpetual apocalypse.

“Fister/CHRCH” split 12" is available here & heresoon

Band info: Fister || Chrch

REVIEW: No Funeral & Livid - "No Funeral / Livid" (Split)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Split LP

Date Released: 15/08/2017

Label: Live Fast Die Records

The combination of these two bands on one mammoth slab of wax is a marriage made in hell. No Funeral and Livid are definitely acts to check out now if you like it slow, heavy and desolate.

“No Funeral / Livid” Split LP//DD track listing:

1). No Funeral - Infection

2). No Funeral – Disease Brought By Depression

3). Livid – False Hope

The Review:

This split LP brings together two Minneapolis doom heavyweights united in snail-paced drudgery. No Funeral and Livid both deal in punishing, immersive doom delivered in contrasting styles.

No Funeral immediately establishes an air of quiet foreboding with the cold, bare introduction of “Infection”. Clean guitars are quickly drowned under a torrent of filthy sludge as the band rumble into a lumbering evil riff. There are slight increases in tempo as the track progresses but a grisly doom crawl is maintained throughout, somewhere between Iron Monkey’sbelligerent spite and Unearthly Trance’s bleakest moments. The mood of hopelessness is heightened by the nasty dual vocals, particularly the harsh howls of despair near the start of second track “Disease Brought By Depression”. Here the band dive deeper into the well of misery, building to a harrowing climax where a vocal sample detailing the effects of heroin withdrawal skips and repeats as the track unravels into chaos.

Livid’s side of this split is a single 19 minute epic titled “False Hope”. The oppressive atmosphere of No Funeral’s offering remains but the sludge has been dialled back in favour of spacious dark psychedelia in the vein of Yob or early Pallbearer. There is a stark contrast on the vocal front too but Cole’s Benson’s clean, reverb-assisted delivery instils a similar level of dread via a different mechanism. Over the first half of the track the band wring maximum impact from a gloomy chord sequence before letting a huge riff unfurl out of the dirge and develop over the second half.

The combination of these two bands on one mammoth slab of wax is a marriage made in hell. No Funeral and Livid are definitely acts to check out now if you like it slow, heavy and desolate.

“No Funeral / Livid”is available here

Band info: No Funeral || Livid

REVIEW: Cloud Rat/Disrotted - "Split LP"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Split 12”

Date Released: 02/06/2017

Label: Dry Cough Records |

Halo of Flies

This is an awe-inspiring release from two incredible bands who can seemingly do no wrong at the moment and continue to deliver an embarrassment of heavy riches in 2017.

"Clout Rat/Disrotted" Split DD//LP track listing:

1). Cloud Rat– “Holding the Picture”

2). Disrotted– “Disrotted”

The Review:

Cloud Rat and Disrotted continue their intense 2017 release schedules with a killer split LP of contrasting styles. This split has come into being due to the strong bond between the two bands and while it may seem a strange stylistic pairing in theory it works a treat in practice.

Michigan’s Cloud Ratdepart from their usual format of short, sharp bursts of mayhem and deliver one eighteen minute monster. “Holding The Picture” begins in familiar territory, a whirlwind blur of chaotic screamo and relentless grindcore. The volume soon dips and the tempo decreases as the track develops into a slow-burning epic that smoulders with restrained power. This more melodic approach recalls Converge’s calmer moments delivered against a barren dustbowl backdrop reminiscent of Earth. It is a breathtaking achievement to create a beast of such sublime complexity and weighty emotional impact from the band’s minimal set-up of vocals, drums and guitar augmented only by occasional piano. This may not be Cloud Rat at their heaviest but they ably demonstrate that they lose none of their intensity and impact when they push their sound into quieter and more experimental realms.

Disrotted’s contribution to this split is twenty three minutes of slow-motion terror entitled “Disrotted”.  The Chicagotrio deal in a potent blend of Burning Witch / Monarch! style drone doom that creates maximum impact from minimal motion. Once the band launch into their sluggish, broken groove of feedback-drenched riffs and primal drums there is no escape from its dark density. The passage of time becomes irrelevant as they subject the listener to an experience that is crushingly bleak yet strangely soothing.

This is an awe-inspiring release from two incredible bands who can seemingly do no wrong at the moment and continue to deliver an embarrassment of heavy riches in 2017.

“Cloud Rat/Distrotted” is available here(UK/Europe) & (US/ROW) here

Band info: Cloud Rat || Disrotted

VIDEO PREMIERE: Copenhagen's LLNN return with wavering drone synths and raw hardcore driven darkness on "The Guardian"

Copenhagen's LLNN draw comparisons to Converge and Love Sex Machine but filtered through the visionary mind of cult sci fi movies, LLNN’s attitude to their compositions is one of devotion to embracing a variety of genres but melding them into their own unique and outstanding personality. Their album “Loss” which was released last year via Pelagic Records attained the band critical acclaim throughout the Europe and now they're back with new material “The Marks” which forms their part of an upcoming split album  with Wovoka.  Written before “Loss” the first crunching riff of opening track “The Guardian” debuted below, trudges along the simple and relentless drums until Christian Bonnesen's truculent vocals take the song to the next level of blackened intensity, making it 100% clear that this material is in no way any less mature than the debut'. Much like on “Loss”, the wavering drone synths that are effortlessly merged with a raw hardcore-driven darkness define the subtle idiosycratic nuances of LLNN's very unsubtle, painfully overwhelming sound.

Belgian artist Ammo was commissioned to create the stunning artwork, which perfectly reflects the music on this release. The vinyl version comes with a hand-numbered 5-colour screen-print. Limited edition on brass & black wax, which looks like an impact crater.  With the release scheduled for the 16/06/2017, today you can check out the breathtaking new track “The Guardian”, which further reinforces our belief that LLNN are one of most promising bands on the scene.  Check it out below and you can Pre-order CD:  here and the VINYL:  here

Band info: facebook|| bandcamp

REVIEW: "Moloch/Disrotted" & "Cloud Rat/Moloch" (Splits)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Splits

Date Released: 10/05/2017 |10/04/2017

Labels: Feast of Tentacles |

Halo of Flies

“Disrotted/Molch Split 7”//DD track listing:

1). Disrotted – “Deliquium”

2). Moloch – “Fleshwound”

“Cloud Rat/Moloch Split 12”//DD track listing:

1). Clout Rat – “Sueno”

2). Cloud Rat – “Perdiak”

3). Cloud Rat – “Stench”

4). Cloud Rat – “Baby Sling (Balloon Born)”

5). Cloud Rat – “Biting the Air”

6). Cloud Rat – “Pit”

7). Cloud Rat – “Amber Flush”

8). Moloch – “The Ninth Wave/Bloody North”

9). Moloch – “Lead”

The Review:

2017 looks set to be an amazing year for Moloch. The Nottingham sludge dealers will be spreading their crushing misery across the US in support of Thou in the summer and are about to unleash a cavalcade of new releases. The first two waves in this attack are a couple of mighty splits; an LP with Michigan grind/punk whirlwind Cloud Ratand a 7” with funereal Chicago doomers Disrotted.

I’ve been hungry for more Moloch since their great 2016 split LP with Lich. The new material on offer across these two new records more than lives up to my expectations and sees the band take their sickening racket to new levels of extremity.

“The Ninth Wave / Bloody North” opens the Moloch side of the Cloud Rat split with twelve minutes of unrelenting terror. It begins with lumbering stop/start riffs and harrowing howls that establish a mood of all-encompassing dread from the very first second. The track degenerates further into a bottomless pit of despair, like a mix of Eyehategod and early Swansfiltered through a grimy noise rock lens. Just when you think this treacly crawl could not get any more unpleasant, the track drops down to a lone dirty bass and screeching feedback which acts a backdrop for a harrowing sample of indecipherable barked threats and desperate tears. It’s unlikely you will hear a more distressing and powerful track this year.

“Lead”offers some relative respite from this onslaught but still consists of repetitive bludgeoning riffs. It sees Moloch expanding their sonic horizons to take in some unhinged lead guitar squalls and more expansive sounds that bring a hint of black metal to the pounding finale.

The band’s contribution to the split 7” with Disrotted is the most direct of these new tracks. Relatively perky by Moloch’sstandards, it’s a hard-riffing no-nonsense sludge assault but still mired in a swamp of feedback and filth.

Moloch’s offerings on these splits see them raise their already impressive game, making them the ones to beat when it comes to ugly, messy, noise-riddled doom. My ears and soul should have recovered from the carnage inflicted by these new songs just in time to enjoy their imminent new LP.

The best part of split releases is getting introduced to killer new bands and Moloch have teamed up with first class partners here.  Disrotted contribute seven minutes of slow motion punishment to their split 7”. The band’s brand of Burning Witch-style torment is a good foil for Moloch’s more aggressive approach, unleashing molasses-thick waves of doom that wash over the listener to create a dense, hypnotic wall of sound. Once you’ve entered the dark cloud of Disrotted’saural domain, it’s hard to pull yourself free.

Cloud Rat’s ever-shifting blend of high octane grind, crust and hardcore punk is completely captivating and a brilliant contrast to Moloch’s drudgery. “Sueno” kicks things off with a pummelling intro riff that blurs into chaotic screamo mayhem while “Baby Sling / Balloon Born” introduces some spidery, discordant guitar lines that shift into furious d-beat sections that recall the fury of the much-missed Hammers. Every track here is loaded with twists and turns that strike the right balance between complexity and no-nonsense rock fury that results in an addictive blast of cathartic fury. The hints of keyboards throughout these tracks culminate in the glorious curveball of closing track “Amber Fury”. A brooding piece of post-punk synthcore it sounds like Cold Cave being played through a broken radio. The fuzzy lo-fi production only adds to its haunting quality. Somehow this complete change of sound sits perfectly beside the chaos that precedes it and within the split LP as a whole. It demonstrates that Cloud Rat are an amazing band who could turn their hand to pretty much any genre and produce gold.

Overall, these two splits are both essential purchases that showcase three incredible underground bands. Buy now.

“Disrotted/Moloch”is available here and “Cloud Rat/Moloch” is available here and USA

Band info: Moloch Facebook|| Disrotted Facebook|| Clout Rat Facebook

ALBUM REVIEW & PREMIERE: Cult of Occult / Grim Van Doom - "Split"

By: Ben Fitts

Album Type: Split

Date Released: 15/02/2017

Label: Vendetta Records

Plump, earthy bass tones, ominous, cymbal-heavy drumming, hellishly guttural vocals and filthy guitar distortion are set to a tempo that makes Sleep look like a grindcore band. All of these elements remain constant throughout the twenty-two minutes of “Black Sea”, giving the song an endless, trance-inducing feel.  Grim Van Doom’s side of the album has very little fat on them; they are all lean, brutish works of harsh sludge that churn your stomach and make the marrow of your bones tremble.

Cult of Occult / Grim Van Doom DD//LP track listing:

1). CULT OF OCCULT - "Black Sea"

2). GRIM VAN DOOM – "Crimson"

3). GRIM VAN DOOM - "Interlude"

4). GRIM VAN DOOM - "Rust"

5). GRIM VAN DOOM - "Azure"

The Review:

The split album by the sludge bands Cult Of Occultand Grim Van Doom starkly contrast the two very different approaches that the two bands bring to the same genre. But, if anything, that contrast grabs the listener. Cult Of Occult’s half of the album is one, twenty-two minute long track titled “Black Sea”. It rumbles like a distant demon patiently clawing its way out from hell, one massive handful of earth at a time. Plump, earthy bass tones, ominous, cymbal-heavy drumming, hellishly guttural vocals and filthy guitar distortion are set to a tempo that makes Sleeplook like a grindcore band. All of these elements remain constant throughout the twenty-two minutes of “Black Sea”, giving the song an endless, trance-inducing feel.

The half of the album given to German quarter Grim Van Doom is rather different. Containing three songs and a brief interlude, Grim Van Doom’s side of the album is like a punch in the face from a spiked, steel gauntlet. While all three song’s on Grim Van Doom’sside of the album cross over the five minute mark, there is still a feeling of very little fat on them; they are all lean, brutish works of harsh sludge that churn your stomach and make the marrow of your bones tremble. Pungent tones grate against your eardrums as they doll out riffs that sound as if they had been written by someone who had spent the last two decades fuming at past transgressions and plotting revenge.

Having the music of these two different bands stacked side by side is an effective way of exaggerating the qualities of both. Both Cult Of Occult and Grim Van Doom create music that is firmly within the sludge metal sphere, so there is enough similarity for coherence. However, while each band grabs sludge by the throat, they do so from disparate angels. Cult Of Occult’s slithering journey through the abyss brings out the pounding, martial energy of Grim Van Doom, who in turn make the hellish sounds Cult Of Occult that much more vivid.

“Cult of Occult / Grim Van Doom” is available here

Band info: facebookcultofoccult|| facebookgrimvandoom