Sludge

Offernat – All Colours Retract [Denmark, Sludge] (2022)

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Self Released | 9-2-22

Part of the reason why I first picked up this EP was the cover as it was so non descript and without any trace of bandname, release title, or anything. It is as if this release just materialized and we have to deal with its existence. Offernat is a Danish sludge / post metal (?) three piece who play music in the style of Neurosis and old Isis. While comparisons are easy to make at first, Offernat quickly becomes dense and complex. The only track available at this monument is a 14 minute preview called “The Winds” which is a raucous maelstrom heavy sludge which tempers into a slow ambient unravel of both form and temper before forming into something unexpected and delightful. “The Winds” is a powerful declaration from a band who has had just one EP to date. All Colours Retract, when release, has a possibility of being a robust release with music that is understated in its album cover.

θoʊθ – Ruins of Gubla [?, Death / Doom / Sludge] (2021)

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Kellerassel Records | 2-1-21

Let’s see if I can get through this review without using the word “goobly”. The enigmatic θoʊθ (purported to be an ancient name for the god Toth) plays “ancient death metal” with a Phoenician and Babylonian lyrical bent. “Ancient’ is certainly a good self-descriptor: there’s no lack of dust on this production. Note that I use the word “dust” instead of “filth” or “grime” – it’s tempting to interchangeably use those words, but I think “dust” better demonstrates the thick, brow-beating grotesqueness. I would go so far as to call some of these riffs positively stoner – the very beginning has that kind of hypotuned chunkiness I closely associate with Sleep. Most of the demo is the kind of death / sludge embodied by Boy Body (pun intended!), though with a less caustic affect. Track three (“Trumpets of None Ѭ Kingdom of All”, very nice) brings back that stoner-doom quality again with all the grinding criticality that good death metal evokes. This is the kind of release that perfectly fits the demo aesthetic, and I can only hope this isn’t a one-off release; hence why I am making sure there’s a Tape Wyrm write-up for this prior to end of the year shenanigans. There, I did it.

θoʊθ – Ruins of Gubla by Kellerassel Records

Autolith – Caustic Light [US, Sludge / Crust] (2020)

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Hand of Death | 3-22-20

Autolith has a lot going for them which sort of balances out their sound. Sludge / crust is not something I initially seek out but the band’s dedicated to bleak aesthetics including album name, album cover, and record label name is all something that made we wander in only to be hit by a wave of pessimism. Much like early Baroness or Mastodon where the sheer weight of the music was enough to crush the listener, Autolith is a a mouthful of rotten air in the best way possible.

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Miscarriage – Imminent Horror [International, Sludge / Doom] (2018)

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Self Released | 12-31-18

I was initially repulsed by the email i got titled “Miscarriage” but later still repulsed when I finally listened to this record. This email I got from the creators stands as the only evidence this band exists outside of a Facebook page, Bandcamp, and perhaps some awful hovel in the middle of Hell. If you are here for the sludge doom tag, you are in the right place but pretend those things you love now chase you through a landscape of nightmares and nausea. Now take those feelings and extend it over an hour and you will be close to understanding the terror of this record. This is not for the faint at heart or even the fully stable in mind. This is perdition in musical form and I can’t help but love every second.

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Haunter / Crawl – Haunter / Crawl [US, Black / Sludge] (2018)

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Self Released | 11-6-18

Welcome to the horror show with two bands from Texas making music that sounds like the crawling chaos of mental collapse. Both bands, Haunter and Crawl have spent the bulk of the last few years releasing impressive collaborations and splits with LVTHN and Sovereign. This recent split is to commemorate the tour both bands are undertaking which will bring them around my area which will allow me to spend a Wednesday night in the depths of darkness. Haunter plays a style of black metal suitable for a labyrinth filled with monsters while Crawl sounds like drowning in a swamp while being pulled beneath the fetid water. Both are horrible and utterly fascinating. So just to be clear the songs available on this split are two songs (Gilded Medulla/Echo-Chambered Corroboration) credited to Haunter while the last (At The Forge of Hate) being from Crawl. I felt that I needed to make the distinction as splits on Bandcamp can be a toss up of what is featured. Also the music is swirling and inverted so it is easy to get lost.

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RUTSA / POHJAMUTA / CICUTOXIN – Cold Case [Finland, Sludge / Punk / Noise] (2018)

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Rämekuukkeli-levyt | 2-1-18

…and here we are in some far flung corner of the world with a three way split of things that may or may not be metal. I do not think it matters as it is 100% effective. I adore not only the quest for weird and caustic thing but also when there is a breakdown between genres to achieve an end goal. The Cold Case split is a three way collaboration with three Finnish underground acts whose seems united in their own unorthodoxy.

If there was any track to catch attention it would be RUTSA with its bombed out landscape of noise and terror. Outside of the aesthetic of harsh noise that populates the air like a swarm of hornets, the structure of the music is a churning machine of broken gears and mechanical fluid. Further investigation into the band’s demo tapes reveal a similar sound but without the level of abrasiveness present in this recent split.

I could not find the selection by CICUTOXIN in any streaming form though the band’s sludge / doom seems fitting for the collaboration. POHJAMUTA, on the other hand, does have their song available which is horrifying amalgamation between sludge and some sort of rabid punk which sees vocals screamed with irreverence and tensions wound tight around necks. All three make up a motley crew of Finnish underground acts which seem to pledge to the same monstrous god which lives in sewers and in runoffs next to graveyards. The unaligned seems to be a theme with a split that can certainly be used to scour the grime from metal.

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No Funeral – Mankind is Carrion, Fit for Nothing [US, Sludge / Doom] (2017)

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Self Released | 12-30-17

Genre: Sludge/Doom Metal. Lyrical themes: Drug addiction, Nihilism, Depression, Death, Misanthropy. You already know what you are getting into just by the summary of this release. Even looking at the band photos, one can assume most things about this sound. I have been more than honest about my stance on sludge and doom as a whole and while I have an aversion to most of the genre, hearing well done sludge doom about Drug addiction, Nihilism, Depression, Death, and Misanthropy is more than welcome.

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BLK OPS / KRVSHR [US, Sludge / Doom / Hardcore] (2017)

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Self Released | 6-11-17

I think I have made mention of my aversion to doom. My hesitance for the genre doesn’t come from my disdain of the sound rather the glut of bands who play in the formula of the style. This isn’t an anomaly in metal as I gravitate towards anything black or death which plays in the genre. Doom and sludge do not interest me as much and aside from this personal preference, there are a few which break through my prejudice. If a band sounds like it was birthed in the bathroom of a shitty dive bar, I am there with outstretched hands.
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Ockultist – Present Day Neglect [Sweden, Black / Sludge] (2017)

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Self Released | 4-15-17

That is quite a sound. I have not been shy regarding my opinion on stoner doom and sludge as I feel the field is flooded with similar sounding bands and ideas. This is not unlike other styles such as black and death metal though stoner doom feels tired and worn unless completely onboard for the sound. This is why a band like Ockultist is intriguing as the shackeling between stoner sludge and black vocals works so well I am wondering why this hasn’t been more of a thing.

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Abstracter – Wound Empire [US, Sludge / Crust] (2015)

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Vendetta Records | 2-15-15

Vendetta Records | 2-15-15

Abstracter is strange for many reasons. First of all, this California based plays a cross between sludge, drone, doom, black, and noise. Second of all, the lyrical and thematic position for this band seems to be between artsy experimentalism and more traditional head splitting heavy metal. This trait is exemplified by the band’s clean font logo as well as their scrawled enigma that looks like tangled roots and rusted barbed wire. This band seems to be able to go many places which is important especially when burrowing far beneath the earth.

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