It’s East vs. West on this sludge metal face-off from Doom Fujiyama Records when Japan’s own Abiuro go head to head with New York riff beasts False Gods. Two of the scene’s heaviest bands together on one release automatically ensures a doomy delight, but the stakes are even higher when both acts turn in some of their most immense riffs to date.
Tag Archives: sludge metal
HERON – Empires of Ash
Following a couple of EP releases, Canadian doom/sludge metal merchants Heron found themselves on the roster of bands at the independent Sludgelord Records. The sometime home of Stone Machine Electric, Bible Basher and Coffin Torture, the band would be in good company, and in many ways, associations with such a great label forced them to up their game. Their 2018 LP ‘A Low Winter Sun’ was a masterclass in weighty sounds; its sludge fuelled approach suggested a love of Conan, and it’s purer doom elements drew from Electric Wizard, but for the more finely tuned ear, the record also displayed a strange, deep psych and heavy post rock tone in the guitar work that allowed the extremely heavy sound to appear more cinematic in its own way.
VARIOUS ARTISTS – A Future Of Bad Men: A Melvins Tribute
Few bands have been more influential to the alternative scene than (the) Melvins. Since their arrival in the early eighties, the noisemakers from Washington have forged an uncompromising musical path which has inspired punk and doom metal bands alike. They’ve encouraged many to twist the elements of rock music into unfathomable shapes. Their early work laid the formations for what many consider “grunge”. Somehow, in the mid 90s, they even managed to score a recording deal with a major label, which inspired them to become even more obtuse, first releasing a single that had a lyric in a made up language (‘Hooch’) and promote a slightly later release with a track that included a drawling vocal, a sludge metal riff and an atonal jazz solo played on the trombone. Even more bizarrely, that single (‘Bar-X The Rocking M’) even had its video shown on MTV. The Melvins’ career has taken many forms, and it’s rarely been pretty, but it has never, ever been dull.
COFFIN TORTURE – Blennoid
There’s no other way of putting it, but this album from Coffin Torture is absolutely brutal. By blending sludge metal production values with doom laden riffs, a swathe of death metal and several retching vocals that convey an almost demonic presence, the South Carolina noise makers have reached an early peak on this set of songs. Following a string of self-released EP’s, this longer workout really allows them to wield their sledgehammer sound with a much greater power, but it’s entirely likely that a lot of people won’t actually make it past the third track…
WEIRD TALES – Y’all Motherfuckers Forgot ‘Bout Good Ol’ Son Of A Bitchin’ Blues EP
Polish doom blues trio Weird Tales laid down some pretty heavy vibes on their 2019 long player ‘Hell Services Cost a Lot’. Bookended by two lengthy workouts absolutely laden with distortion, it cared not for giving first time listeners anything easily digestible. Lurching through various slow and heavy moods, and with each track seemingly as oppressive as the last, it eventually blurred into a near hour’s worth of sludge. While those riffs were impressive – at least to begin with – a disregard for actual songs meant it was an album for the most committed doom fiends only.