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.

Continue reading

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…

Continue reading

PLAGUE OF CARCOSA – Ocean Is More Ancient Than The Mountains EP

Having previously released material mastered by Dennis Pleckham of Bongripper and taken musical cues from Sunn O))), Chicago’s Plague of Carcosa are no strangers to a heavy riff. Their 2018 release ‘Rats In The Walls’ required no more than just one track to make its point, but since that number was often delivered at a crawling speed and dragged out to almost fifteen minutes, the effect was like experiencing a full four song EP from most doom/sludge bands.

Continue reading