With their slow and uncompromisingly heavy sound, Slomatics have become one of the best-loved bands from the UK sludge metal scene. They’ve faced stiff competition from the likes of Morag Tong and Conan, but the Slomatics brand has remained the most interesting. They can do heavy, but unlike some of their peers, they can also serve up great, dark atmospheres that sound lighter musically, but convey just as much doom. In short, if you want intense riffs, the Slomatics will rarely let you down.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
SUPPLEMENTAL PILLS – No Easy Way Out
On their second full length release, Supplemental Pills serve up some interesting music that’s at times minimalist, and at times noisy, but absolutely unafraid to hop between styles. Sometimes the material doesn’t even care for much of a tune, but it works. It’s also strangely hypnotic.
STRIKE MASTER – Tangram Apocalypse
On their earliest albums, Mexican thrashers Strike Master conveyed a great energy, but their material was often hampered by a thin production sound. In some ways, this made them no different to many of their musical heroes; after all, a lot of the second division thrash albums released in the late 80s sounded pretty cheap, and it was often the bands’ energies in the live field that secured them a fan base. By the time Strike Master released their self titled album in 2017, there was obviously an increased budget, as well as a bigger bass sound driving their material, but there was still a nagging feeling that this talented trio were capable of producing something even better.
GEORGE LYNCH & JEFF PILSON – Heavy Hitters II
At the end of 2020, George Lynch and Jeff Pilson released ‘Heavy Hitters’, a well meaning but not especially good covers album, on which the 80s legends took all manner of material and made it heavier. Not everything will withstand being made into a massive rock tune, and hearing the two ex-Dokken men cranking their way through Martha & The Vandellas’ ‘Nowhere To Run’ with distorted vocals was especially grim. Likewise, the world didn’t need Duran Duran’s perfect pop tune ‘Ordinary World’ reworked in a sub grunge mould, or the Joan Osborne hit ‘One of Us’ presented as an unimaginative hard rock trudge. However, the musicians clearly had fun mauling other peoples’ material, and three years later, decided to foist a second volume of covers upon everyone. Thankfully, ‘Heavy Hitters II’ is a massive improvement on its predecessor.
NO DIVINITY – Generation Of Pain EP
Released two years after their ‘Ceremony of Suffering’, this second EP from North Dakota’s No Divinity presents a big step forward for the band. Its four songs still feature the huge riffs that their fans have come to recognise, but they’re used in much broader strokes for an increased heaviness. This time out, the band have dispensed with the sub-two minute hardcore blasts, and instead concentrated on their longer, heavier jams – in the vein of ‘Splinter’ – to bring the best out of an intense, crushing guitar sound. More importantly, it comes with some massive production values that help to make their crossover hardcore sound even bigger than before.