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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KYLESA’S STATIC TENSIONS, SET FOR MAR. 17 RELEASE ON PROSTHETIC; TOUR DATES WITH THE HAUNTED THIS SPRING

Kylesa’s eagerly anticipated new album, Static Tensions, is set for a Mar. 17 via Prosthetic Records and will be quickly followed by the Apr. 2 launch of a nationwide tour alongside The Haunted at Pomona, Calif.’s Glass House.

Guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope produced Static Tensions, which was recorded at the Jam Room in Columbia , S.C. Discussing the mindset behind the new album, “It was definitely a lot more thought out. We have the hindsight of some of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, so we were able to avoid making them again on this record. I think we came away from the experience with our best stuff yet.”

“All of our records sound pretty different, but with the same core vibe or sound, and I think the new record has our core Kylesa sound, but branches out even more to incorporate more of our rock and psychedelic influences,” adds guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants.

With artwork done by Baroness’ John Dyer Baizley, Static Tensions will also see a simultaneous vinyl release on 20 Buck Spin.

Static Tensions track listing:

01. Scapegoat
02. Insomnia For Months
03. Said and Done
04. Unknown Awareness
05. Running Red
06. Nature’s Predators
07. Almost Lost
08. Only One
09. Perception
10. To Walk Alone

Tour dates:

Dates below w/Amebix:



Jan. 29 New York , NY The Bowery Ballroom
30 Providence , RI AS220
31 Philadelphia , PA Starlite Theater

Japanese tour dates:

Feb. 06 Nagoya Huck Finn
07 Tokyo Earthdom
08 Tokyo TBA
11 Gifu 51
13 Fukuoka Graf
14 Yamaguchi Club Squad
15 Osaka Club Drop

Dates below w/The Haunted, Nachtmystium & Intronaut:

April 02 Pomona , CA The Glass House
03 Los Angeles , CA Key Club
04 San Francisco , CA Slim’s
05 Portland , OR Hawthorne Theater
06 Seattle , WA Neumo’s
07 Vancouver , BC Commodore Ballroom
08 Edmonton , AB The Starlite Room
09 Calgary , AB The Warehouse
11 Winnipeg , MB Royal Albert
12 St. Paul , MN Station 4
13 Mokena , IL The Pearl Room
14 Detroit , MI The Majestic Theatre
15 Toronto , ON Opera House
16 Montreal , QC Club Soda
17 Worcester , MA The Palladium
19 New York , NY B.B. King’s
21 Millvale, PA Mr. Smalls
22 W. Springfield , VA Jaxx
23 Raleigh , NC Volume 11 Tavern
24 Atlanta , GA The Masquerade