LP Review: Shepherd / Death By Fungi Split

At the beginning of 2015, we were introduced to a sludge/doom band from Bengaluru, India, with their debut full-length record Stereolithic Riffalocalypse, and it blew us away (review here), so it was sad that we recently heard that Shepherd have decided to call it a day. However, before they leave us for good, they've have released a split record with fellow Indian band Death By Fungi, who onslaught us with a hardcore edge, and it's a nice stamp in the face to remember the band by.

Perhaps it's because they're sharing a record with a hardcore band, or it was a direction that the band were heading down before they called it a day, but Shepherd have lost some of their doomier aspects (just some though) and gone for full on sludge meets hardcore, with elements of fuzzy djent in there too (you remember djent? That musical genre that lasted the summer of 2009?), and it's a sound that's exciting to behold. The record opens with five tracks from Shepherd, with 'Agents of Nihil' setting the tone with a bleak and frightening monologue from the climax of the film The Exorcist 3, before the chaotic sludge explosion assaults you, while their almost trademark chugging bass heavy riffs drive the spine of the song forward, a sound which all us doom/sludge heads will cling to. The vocals mix with light and darker growls, while they even find time to shred while the drums go off like a pneumatic drill. Shepherd, haven't lost their sound, so much as shoved a firecracker up its arse and honed the results. Our highlight of the entire record is 'Hope Comes Gnawing' with an almost funky sludge bassline continues throughout, both exciting and frightening in the same breath. 'Fungalord' and 'Weed Dealer' (Shepherd have always been a band who like to have fun with their song titles, just see 'Turdspeak' or 'Black Cock of Armageddon') are tracks which are both excellent break-neck speed sludge tracks with elements of stoner added in for, well, why the hell not? You can never really relax with these guys as they can change time signatures and pull out devilish riffs from out of nowhere. We're going to miss this band.

While the hardcore genre may not be something with which you guys out there are necessarily drawn to straight away (this being a site for the best stoner/doom/sludge/psych etc), Death By Fungi are not a band that you should ignore. While many of the trademark hardcore elements are there with constant snare beats, breakneck speed playing, high velocity shouting vocals, there are definite elements of something just that bit heavier with this band, just take the riffs with 'Edgelord Breakdown' melting your face with it's furious assault throughout and the anger of the vocals screaming "You've failed me so many times!", they take the elements of sludge which Shepherd bring to the table and put their own spin on it, and it becomes an invigorating and refreshing listen. 'Dead Soil' morphs into a sound which is like doom on acid, with a fluctuating heart rate that'll kill you with a smile on your face.

Even though Shepherd have sped up their sonic game, they're still the slower, sludgier of the two bands here, and the compliment each other well. If this indeed does prove to be Shepherd's final opus (bands do get back together after all) then it's a mighty fine closing on a short, but heavy-as-fuck career, one which you're a fool to have missed so far (but thanks for introducing us to Death By Fungi on your way out). Get this record now and give your ears a good kicking!

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Album Review-Wolves Carry My Name: Black Earth Tongue

It's about 6:00 am.  Pitch shit black, and I've been up since 3:15, on the road since 4:00.  Drank enough coffee to kill a horse and only about 50% sure I'm on the right road.  I'm in no mood for the horrible atrocities and audible crimes perpetrated by this so-called "morning radio".  Bieber, Bieber, country, church service, talk show, church service....  I think my soul wants to vomit.  With miles of some of NY's most boring highway ahead, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to blast the new Wolves Carry My Name album, "Black Earth Tongue".  Released on Oct 14, 2016, I got my copy the day it came out, but this was my first opportunity to listen to it straight through, uninterrupted.  Their previous release "Among the Ashes and Ruins", instantly became one of my favorite albums and I have been not so patiently waiting for a follow up ever since.  I had high hopes and was not disappointed.  This was exactly the kind of kick in the teeth I needed to get through this dismal ride. 

Only seconds in and I'm feeling rejuvenated, rocking down the highway speed limits be damned.  I've heard listening to good music is a legal defense. Legitimate in any court for speeding.  But don't quote me on that.  At only about 29 minutes long this isn't an exceptionally long album.  But it doesn't need to be.  There is no fluff, no filler, no fucking around here.  They get in, get the job done and get out!  Like a precision bank robbery.  In and out before you know what hit you, leaving you holding your ass looking for you wallet and all the killer cat food coupons contained within. 

Their Bandcamp page describes their sound as "a bastard of 90's sludge metal and ruthless hardcore fused into sonic waves of blackness".  That description works for me as they fall under no conventional label.  A tempo faster than your typical sludge but with vocals just a vicious.  Guitar hooks and stoner rock moments with a more ambient doomy feel other times.  All the different elements are woven together seamlessly.  I am guilty of never paying much attention to listening to an album in order, but one thing that struck me about the first album was how it flowed,this album is no different.  Teeth Black as Coffin Nails serves as an introduction and Tamam Shud is a fitting conclusion.  The thought about every aspect is evident throughout.  From the arrangements to the track layout.  No wasted time.  Hard hitting and straight to the point.  Do yourself a favor and check out their Bandcamp and pick up a copy. 

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Album Review - 'Bless The Earth With Fire' by Allfather

Swift has been the rise of Allfather in the South-East England heavy music scene. Having previously released a 4 track EP ’No Gods. No Masters.' in 2015, they now return with ‘Bless The Earth With Fire’ via Portland’s Static Tension Recordings. Formed on the banks of the Medway delta in Kent, England, Allfather are a dark & brooding 5-piece who’ve been fed intravenously the likes of Eyehategod, High on Fire and drops of East coast hardcore, all to create a lethal dose of their own sludge-metal.

Adopting the slogan "Beards. Metal. Fuck You.” this record is the sound of a band refusing to be pigeon-holed into one style. Instead, fusing grooves and riffs in a way they want... whilst giving you the finger. Yet the songwriting craft manages to not only straddle the world’s of sludge, hardcore, metal and doom, but bring them together in one pissed-off and hairy package.

For a start, these guys love their riffs. There’s plenty to get your teeth into if you like guitar tones that could melt iron. Vocally, Tom Ballard’s ability across the screaming spectrum sits well on-top and adds those moments of energy and raw emotion just when required. And the production captures the heaviness of the band delivering a claustrophobic sense you're in the same room as them... ears ringing and surrounded with a stench of blood and sweat.

For me, Allfather own more menace and originality when they’re exploring the sludgy side of their personality, captured perfectly on slow-groove of ‘The Bloody Noose’ which opens with a signature lead riff setting the tone before stepping up a gear in a foot-stomping mid-section. Again, the opus that is ‘Death, And Hell Followed With Him’ is probably the highlight of the band’s career to date - an 11 minute monster which stretches the band’s sound further into more sludgy-doom territory.

If you like your NOLA-inspired sludge, you couldn’t go wrong checking out ‘Bless The Earth With Fire’. It's apparent Allfather have evolved their sound and have begun to hit their stride with this record. And it's brutal. Fuck you.

Check out the album bonus track 'Blood Red Sunset' below...

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Band Submission: Weed Bug-Stoner Hardcore Punk From Spain

Band Name: Weed Bug
Genre: Stoner Hardcore Punk
Location: Vigo (SPAIN)
Brief Bio/Description: Weed Bug starts in summer of 2013, few months after public his first job "No other way" in Desamparados studios, 7 songs of stoner hcpunk, looking for a wall mass sound.
Semilla Ep appear in January of 2016, 5 songs recorded in Cabral studios. Members come from underground scene of Vigo like, Carcomedhi, Atlantic Valley, Viridiana and Kids Pantera(Barcelona) and Mostros (Mallorca).
Band Members:
Macky- Vocals
Manurro- Drums
Javi-Bass
Victor- Guitar/Vocals
Goiko- Guitar/Vocals
Aku- Guitar
Links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Band Submission: Warsnake-Doom Metal, Stoner Rock, Hardcore From Toronto, Canada

Band Name: Warsnake
Genre: Doom Metal, Stoner Rock, Hardcore
Location: Toronto, Canada
Brief Bio/Description: Warsnake is a Doom Metal, Stoner Rock, Hardcore band from Toronto Canada. New projects for 2016 include: full length album, music video, video game soundtrack and music featured on the hit series Motorcycle Wars.
Band Members:
Matt
Jay
Links: Website | Bandcamp | Facebook

LP Review: Mona by Crux of Aux

Canadians Crux of Aux have been a band for a decade, and only now do we finally get to see the release of their debut record, Mona; and it is brutal! The band features former members of Cursed, Shallow North Dakota, and Sailboats are White, peddling their own hybrid of Noise, Sludge, Hardcore, and heavy riffing with devastating aplomb.

The record opens with the mosh-inducing ‘Purgatory Cop’ menacingly carrying a crushing riff over four minutes of scorched vocals stalking your every move. The vocals are full of a pain and anger that breathes life into the music as much as it feasts on its corpse. The guitars drag you kicking and screaming into an uncomfortable plain of head-banging, while the drums all but countdown to the tracks ultimate end: it’s destruction but in a beautifully artistic approach. The hardcore/(early)Mastodon-esque pummelling of ‘Sewer Ghost’ show that the band aren’t afraid to throw their hat into a breakneck speed ring, carrying a punk aesthetic to their shredding.

The record is as raw to the bone as it gets: ‘Body of Shale’ captures the band at their brutally diverse best, mixing jarred guitar riffs, pummelling drums, all covered with deathly vocals intertwined with sludge and noise, with even the tiniest hint of psychedelia just to fully throw you off balance. There are elements of grind in ‘Splat Splat’ and ‘Cestoda’, but ultimately, the sludge, Noise, and simply sheer heaviness of Crux of Aux shines through brightest, culminating in a record which is as brutal and unsettling as it is party-like and moshable. Mona is a must for fans of all thing HEAVY.

No Why Records

Song of the Day-Waingro-"Van Sant"

"Van Sant" is taken off of the band's latest full-length release "Mt. Hood". Surprising to me is the fact that more people haven't jumped all over this band. This song is a potent mix of heavy doom riffs, stoner rock groove and hardcore punk that manages to be very aggressive but still maintain it's melody. Ear-shredding vocals scream out as the music crawls under your skin and burns deep into your soul. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

LP Review: To Dethrone A God by The Sun The Moon The Stars

With a crushing mix of hardcore riffs, sludge guttural howls, and a pounding rhythm section to crush you into next week, New Jersey’s The Sun The Moon The Stars have come with a mission statement on their full length To Dethrone A God, and it’s one of perpetual terror, dark warnings, and a whole load of head thrashing fun.

The record opens with Matthew Dwyer spiting Dillinger Escape Plan-esqe screams all laid over Black Tusk devouring musicianship, which basically makes you sit back and say Woah! It’s a powerful combination that supplements chugging stoner riffs in amongst the hardcore anger, and genuine crafted instrumentation that flows at break neck speed whilst keeping its composure. What the band do though is make it impossible for them to be labelled alongside one genre of heavy music, as all corners are tested, with the guys excelling most when they cross into doom/stoner metal territory, as heard on track ‘The Whispering Ones’, with their use of deeper demonic screams alongside their usual higher pitched howls, drawn out hallucinogenic riffs, and devastating bass lines, that make you howl at the moon.

To Dethrone A God may only be six tracks long, but The Sun The Moon The Stars pack more into those 25 minutes than a lot of bands do in their entire careers. For many stoners out there, the band may push at the boundaries of their comfort zones, but hell, that ain’t no bad thing. If you let The Sun The Moon The Stars absorb you, you’ll never be able to leave.

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Sunday Sludge: Bardus - "Solus"

Sandwiching several days' activities into one weekend bakes an atmosphere of little sleep, high tension, and snarls at those closest to you. Add a patch of ice under worn soles and you're surprised a trip to IKEA could get any fucking worse. Why does cabin fever lead to thoughts of redecorating, upgrading, enhancing, storing, displaying, constructing, and ultimately throwing tools? I woke up this morning scanning a backlog of submissions for some soothing, droning, cathartic, ambient post-metal pretentiousness that wouldn't be offended if I nodded off. Well, too bad. I stumbled on Bardus.

This Philadelphian trio formed in 2011 and released their first full-length in 2013. So I guess it's not new, I guess maybe you've already discovered them. And I can guess that if you haven't heard Solus, it's fair to consider you won't leave it behind after one spin. On the album's eight quick-spat tracks, I can't determine whether not a moment is wasted or if EVERY moment is wasted. Regardless, Bardus don't care if you've never been in a fight. This relentless push of sludgy noise wouldn't let me off the floor.

Tiny Teeth's hot-buttered drums and loose plunks blast fuzz through speakers and immediately rip at our skin. The sweaty, expanding thickness perfectly underlies murky stomps on this loud opener that announces the band doesn't really give a fuck. The grazing Death Letter follows with potent, violent churn, constantly shifting and leaving not a moment to catch up on breaths. As these tracks play out, the sound absolutely saturates, blanketing with shrapnel and subsequently glazing with jagged guitars. As Hex unfurls, we struggle to outrun the band's flick of a rusty knife headcharging for our heels.

The cosmic, shit-soaked cruise of Maladroid grows into phantom scratches, shoving us toward something bigger, higher, and far more sinister. No frills needed. Bloodbrain's fuzz beating interrupts the onset's moment of clarity, a far-off swarm of locusts in the closing distance. The track's warbled, indiscriminate violence is strewn all over, and you're yanked back to your burlap sack nightmare, puss.

Sludge is most evident on Dave Groan, an exposed and grimy buzz-flutter steadily cruising under exhausting, crushing drums. Guitars levitate, but the malevolent stare just won't shake. As the track chops and trails off, a deceptive haze develops and briefly lets us get lost. Eh, don't buy it. Jobber is dark and unsettled, lined with questionable purpose. A jittery, captivating rise ensues and blisters have time to form. And then, well... we're immediately flushed back into blue flames before High Tide's stoner repetition brakes toward a cool burn, bouncing with a frightening fucking smile. The fadeout, though, is perhaps more stupefying than the beating we've endured.

Call today's feature a stream-of-consciousness account of a sound I struggled to keep pace with. The impossible task of documenting everything I heard grew tiresome, leaving me no choice but to summarize with colorful, illustrative descriptors that do Solus no justice. You'll wanna scratch your head trying to describe the sound, but you'll also have trouble lifting your arm near album's end. Bardus knit hot chaos within quick tempos, only to thrust that crochet needle just under your sternum. Sludge? Noise? Ugh... Hardcore? Nah. This is just genre-defying impetuosity. And you're the fucking tomato can.

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New Band To Burn One To: Rhin

When new bands come along, they’re always compared to acts that came before, whether you want to call it lazy journalism or a helpful way of quickly assigning a sound to a band using an audience’s knowledge of music, therefore letting people make snap judgements to whether or not they want to listen to the band, i’m going to do it here really quickly: Rhin sound like The Melvins if they played a sludgy version of hardcore punk! It’s THAT damn good!!

Hailing from Shepherdstown, West Virginia (USA), Rhin was formed in June ’13, and they’re already about to release their second record, the face pummelling Bastard on Grimoire Records. Made up of members from the bands The Demon Beat, Black Blizzard, Bishops, and Nonhealer, this collective hardcore sludge troupe carry such ferocity that it’s hard to fathom how they don’t just implode after every song. They manage to perfectly contain their anger to wrap around their structured songs like a python chokehold, squeezing out every inch of passion and energy that the shattered bones of your brittle frame is all that remains. Each screeched vocal from Dominic Gianninoto, every fuzz-laden twang of Tucker Riggleman’s (good name) guitar, and every deathly crash of Ben Proudman’s drums leaves such a dirty taste in your mouth that you need to wash after every listen, but it’s glorious, being stripped down to our naturalistic bare essentials of rocking and fucking and rocking some more.

What Rhin manage to do that many other sludge/hardcore (Hardsludge or Sludgcore?) acts lose in amongst there raw playing, is that they keep the song structures at the forefront of the song, not losing themselves in self-indulgent tangents of noise, but remembering that they’re making music, brutal, aggressive, dirty, awesome music. Listen to a song such as the 1,000mph ‘Gravy’, the fuzzed out ‘Ted’s Shed’, or the head-pounding ‘Bull Doze’ and tell me that your life isn’t better, if not a bit dirtier, I know mine is. Embrace the filth! Get Rhin! SLUDGCORRREEE!!! 

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