THE SLUDGELORD PREMIERE: Montreal quartet Modern Eyes deliver vicious new video “Hérésie”

“Tragedies Dictate Our Lives” is the first full length by Montreal quartet Modern Eyes and what you get is twelve crashing and gloomy tracks mixing elements of d-beat, crust, post metal, hardcore executed in a very defined and unique way.

Formed in 2015, Modern Eyeshave released two EP’s during which they have experimented with their sound and played various showcases and Canadian Festivals.  Lyrically the new record varies from frustrations with modern systems to emotional distress caused by social oppression and every days ordeals.

Produced by Topon Das “Tragedies Dictate our Lives” should undoubtedly serve as the turning point for this Canadian quartet because on this record it achieves the perfect combination of chaotic intensity and melodic soundscapes.  With a release date set for early 2019, today THE SLUDGELORD is exclusively debuting the brand new video for the track “Hérésie” which you can check out below.  Crank this one up and watch your speakers die!!

Band info: facebook

6 NEW BANDS: THE SLUDGELORD's 666 PACK REVIEW (May 2018)

By: Nikos Mixas

Art by: Joshua M. Wilkinson 

It’s the May edition of THE SLUIDGELORD’S 666 PACK REVIEW!  While some of you may be graduating school or looking for a summer job, the album/demo submissions keep pouring into THE SLUDGELORD’S inbox for review.  If you’re new to this, each and every month we handpick 6review submissions and critique them by only using 6 words, then we rate them on a scale from 1to 666!  Check out our very spring-like rating scale below: 

1– We’re guessing when you let your mother listen to your band on Mother’s Day, she cried...       

2– Even with Shinedown, Sevendust and Five Finger Death Punch releasing new material this month,          that still won’t help your cause.    

3– May is the most average month of the year, it’s not too shabby, nor exactly great.  Congrats on being   a May!       

4 – Just like the new Candlemass, we’re intrigued.  Keep working at it.    

5– Time to start planning those mini-tour dates!  You need to get yourselves out there! 

666– THE SLUDGELORD crowns you with flower helmet encrusted in emeralds representing fertility and success because that’s the best we can do for May!  Hails! 

Caveat:  Even though the 666 PACK REVIEW is meant to offer humorous critique, there are no safe spaces here and your gripes will only make you sound like a bellyacher.  THE SLUDGELORD is a picky listener…and doesn’t care what you think of his opinions….

1). vAv,  “vAv”(Tel Aviv, Israel)    Rating: 3

Textbook doom that plays it safe.

2). Arakk, “Under Søvnen” (Copenhagen, Denmark)   Rating: 3

Two songs, too similar, too bad.

3). End of Hope,“D E M O” (New York City, U.S.A.)   Rating: 2

I’m “hoping” this isn’t the “end.”  

4). Denim Casket,“Demo” (Boise, U.S.A.)   Rating: 5

Old school grind meets G.G. Allin

5). Titanosaur, “Eat Me”(Hudson, U.S.A.)   Rating: 1

One man band with computer skillz.

6). Montagne, “Spring Birds” (Paris, France)   Rating: 4

Post Hardcore is still a thing?

Bonus: Yanari, “Marine Leg Demo” (Buffalo, U.S.A.) Rating: 4

Solid doomage.  Vocals are missing reverb.

Band info: vAv || Arakk

ALBUM REVIEW: Minors - "Atrophy"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 15/12/2017

Label: Holy Roar Records

 

Minors manages to make a big splash with its debut album "Atrophy," a confrontational collection of nihilistic but unassailably captivating songs and is one of the more enjoyable hardcore debuts listeners got with the wrap of 2017. The possibilities for a group like Minors seem limitless. May 2018 see a lot more from this promising young band.

“Atrophy”CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Somnolence

2. Bone Pointer

3. Leper               

4. Dark Clouds

5. Void

6. Miseranaut

7. Soothsayer

The Review:

As much as one can make an impression in seven tracks over about 18 minutes, the Windsor, Ontariosludge/hardcore band Minors manages to make a big splash with its debut album "Atrophy," a confrontational collection of nihilistic but unassailably captivating songs.

You will discover some gems on "Atrophy." "Miseranaut" rains down monster chords and distortion in one of the long-player's most sustained cuts. By the time it settles into a hard charging rhythm, you're exhausted from its thrashing, dense composition.  It peaks at the end with unforgettable feedback and a nod to the sort of hardcore you love. Hat tip thereafter to post-production, which flows "Soothsayer" exceptionally well into it. By now, Minorsgrind into a depressive, cold groove. Although the rhythm almost teases you for a second with a hint of "Miseranaut," the band shocks you with a clubbing riff and unrelenting drum sequences. It too wraps with just a hint of feedback that makes the cut feel like a perfect pairing with its predecessor.

Some critics have noted a bit of unclassifiability to Minors' sound. However, there is a good chunk of post-hardcore in the All Pigs Must Die vein that you might find common lineage with. The quartet are able capable of bringing both frenetic energy to its tightest selections, such as "Dark Clouds" and "Bone Pointer," while offering a deliberate attack on music like "Somnolence" – here, with a dash of punk/noise in its open. The result is a perfectly executed first album, one that gives listeners a sense of what this group is capable of creating, while providing room for the imagination to consider more.

If fans will have any complaints with Minors, it is that "Atrophy" is almost unforgivably short. Granted, there is a lot provided. A debut album of seven songs of impeccably rugged quality is something to appreciate.  The fact they clock in at just less than 20 minutes may be understandable, but that just does not make the pain go away. You may walk away wanting to hear much more from these Canadian bombers, but one has to guess that's what the new year is for.

"Atrophy" is one of the more enjoyable hardcore debuts listeners got with the wrap of 2017. The possibilities for a group like Minors seem limitless. May 2018 see a lot more from this promising young band.

"Atrophy" is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

VIDEO PREMIERE: "Echo of Souls" by Telepathy

If I have said it before, then I’ll say it again, and once I’ve said it again, then I’ll say it some more, Colchester-based instrumental sludge/post-metal band Telepathy, fucking rule and if you don’t know this band by now, then wtf you dumb dumb.  Having risen through the ranks of the UK underground, this quartet are musical architects, composing music of ambition , depth and distinction,  not so much songs, rather multifaceted  concertos, at times beautifully mellow and then hideously brutal, executed with remarkable intelligence and flair.  Like a rich tapestry Telepathy weave together the  strands of  their musical endeavours into something truly magical.

With each release their raw, voracious and vicious sound has gained more and more clarity, their ideas more expansive and forward thinking. Now, following the release of their sensational new album “Tempest”which will surely propel them to greater, more luxurious stratospheres, the band are set to hit the road for their biggest tour yet, taking them across Europe from 09.09 – 27.09,   subscribing to their own rules, the band are in a unique position of being embraced by fans of post-metal, hardcore, sludge and progressive music alike, which is testament to the bands imaginative, off-kilter and ambitious musical expressionism.

So with the tour set to kick off in a few short say, today, we are excited to reveal their brand new video for the track “Echo of Souls” which was directed by Maciej Bakowski and photographed by Sebastian Ziabka.  Check it out below.  “Tempest” is still available to buy here

TELEPATHY 'TEMPEST' EU TOUR 2017

09.09 MUNSTER, Sputnikcafe (DE)

10.09 FREIBURG, White Rabbit Club (DE) 

12.09 VIENNA, Viper Room Vienna (AT)

13.09 DRESDEN, Studentenclub Bärenzwinger (DE)

14.09 WÜRZBURG, Immerhin Würzburg (DE)

15.09 BERLIN, Berlin Swamp Fest 2017 (DE)

16.09 BRAUNSCHWEIG, Nexus (DE)

17.09 MARBURG, Szenario (DE)

19.09 KÖLN, AZ Koln (DE)

20.09 HAMBURG, Hafenklang (DE)

21.09 SIEGEN, Vortex Surfer Musikclub (DE)

22.09 OLTEN, Coq d'Or (CH)

23.09 WINTERTHUR, Gaswerk (CH)

25.09 ANTWERP, Antwerp Music City (BE)

27.09 BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, CAFE HIJACK (FR)

October: 

8.10 BRIGHTON, Mammothfest w/ Amenra, 40 Watt Sun, OHHMS, Vodunetc

20.10 BRUSSELS, Magasin 4 (BE)

21.10 LEEUWARDEN, Into the Void 2017 Festival (NL) 

22.10 UTRECHT, Black Earth Festival @ dB's (NL)

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: River Black - "River Black"

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/07/2017

Label: Season of Mist

River Black’s self-titled release picks up right where Burnt by the Sun’s “Heart of Darkness” left off, the riffs and instrumentation are crushing, as well as vocalist Mike Olender being the best he has ever been, For anyone who enjoys Metal and hardcore at its finest will find this record to be of their choosing.

“River Black” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Jaws
2. Honor
3. Low
4. Shipwreck
5. River Black
6. South x South
7. Boat
8. Move
9. #Victim
10. Haunt
11. Sink
12. Everywhere

The Review:

River Black’s self-titled release picks up right where Burnt by the Sun’s “Heart of Darkness” left off in ways that are both impressive and terrifying. The positives are that the riffs and instrumentation are crushing, as well as vocalist Mike Olenderbeing the best he has ever been. The terrifying element is that the lyrical continuity between “Heart of Darkness”and “River Black” indicates the human condition has only grown worse in the band’s absence. Fans of Burnt by the Sun will not only welcome this new record, but also be blown away by the progression of River Black’s sound.  

The album gets off to a pummelling start from the get-go with “Jaws” and “Low” are riff-oriented tracks very reminiscent of the “Soundtrack to the Personal Evolution” era of Burnt by the Sun. The album takes a turn in the middle with the self titled track and “South x South”.These songs show a more matured band exercising restraint and understanding the best qualities of their sound. It is the little things that make such an impact; particularly with the double kick pattern and the string arrangements on “South x South”, you see the growth still capable within this band. As mentioned previously, Mike Olender’s vocals are nothing short of spectacular. With “River Black”, the listener really gets the sense of a man who has had many life experiences between his studio albums. Particularly with songs like “Haunt”and “#Victim”, you get the sense Mike is not only a seasoned lyricist, but has completely mastered his craft as a metal vocalist.

For anyone who enjoys Metal and hardcore at its finest will find this record to be of their choosing.

“River Black”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Timeworn - "Venomous High"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 02/06/2017

Label: Fysisk Format

Some of the most engaging moments on “Venomous High” come when Timeworn move slightly away from their core sound.  “All Chiefs” finds the band at their most unhinged as they unleash an arsenal of spidery math-metal riffs with breakneck rock’n’roll abandon. Anyone missing Swiss behemoths Kruger will find a lot to enjoy in this killer track. “Venomous High” is a fine offering from Timeworn that takes an array of well-worn modern metal influencesand blows them up on a grand scale.

“Venomous High” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Measure of Gold

2). All Chiefs

3). The Trail

4). Black Peak Blues

5). The Infectious Gloom

6). Ur Syntax

7). Night of Owls

8). Traitors to the Crown

9). Venomous High

The Review:

Timeworn’s new LP “Venomous High” is a slab of burly Mastodon-style complex sludge injected with a shot of post-rock grandeur. The albums production is perfectly pitched to capture the Oslo quintet’s strengths – smooth and polished enough to distil their rich melodic side but nasty enough to harness their weighty crunch. Opener “Measure of Gold” display all of these elements over seven epic minutes and provides a strong foundation for the bands sonic explorations over the rest of the album. “The Trail” provides a welcome moment of calm in the form of a brief piano-led instrumental that acts as an extended introduction to the hulking “Black Peak Blues”. The slowest and heaviest track on the record, it is both crushing and darkly melancholic

Some of the most engaging moments on “Venomous High” come when Timeworn move slightly away from their core sound.  “All Chiefs” finds the band at their most unhinged as they unleash an arsenal of spidery math-metal riffs with breakneck rock’n’roll abandon. Anyone missing Swiss behemoths Kruger will find a lot to enjoy in this killer track. The band bring some no nonsense stoner rock attitude to “The Infectious Gloom”, particularly in the infectious refrain that carries a little bit of Clutch’s swagger.

“Venomous High”is a fine offering from Timeworn that takes an array of well-worn modern metal influences and blows them up on a grand scale. It is a record that could have a wide appeal while remaining true to its underground roots.

“Venomous High”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Viscera/// - “3: Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals”

By: Ben Fitts

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 05/05/2017

Label: Unquiet Records |

Drown Within Records |

Wooaaargh

"If one were forced to classify the band’s current sound, post-metal might be the safest category, but even that vaguely defined subgenre does not quite do the band justice, as it fails to mention the strains of psychedelia, black metal, hardcore, death metal and the band’s grind roots to are still very present in VISCERA///

“3: Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals” CD//DD track listing:

1). Uber-Massive Melancholia

2). Martyrdom for the Finest People

3). Titan (Or The Day We Called It Quits

4). In The Cut

5). Anxiety Prevails

The Review:

Italian trio Viscera/// is hard to describe. Although the band has its roots in goregrind (as exemplified on their 2003 demo “Entrails Defecation”), Viscera///’s sound has since evolved into a stylistically fluid assault that makes to strike an evocative range of emotions, often within the same song. If one were forced to classify the band’s current sound, post-metal might be the safest category, but even that vaguely defined subgenre does not quite do the band justice, as it fails to mention the strains of psychedelia, black metal, hardcore, death metal and the band’s grind roots to are still very present in Viscera///. While their previous few releases also evidenced this growth, nowhere in their discography does their varied sound come together as well as on their fourth full-length album, “3: Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals”.

The album opens on the sinister sounding and melodramatically titled “Uber-Massive Melancholia”. Over the nearly eleven and half minutes of  the opening track (making it only the second longest song on the album), Viscera/// display the nastiest, dirtiest sounds in their cannon, as well as the most overt black and death metal influences to be found on the “3: Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals”. The following track, “Martyrdom for the Finest People” sees the album continue with the blackened elements of “Uber-Massive Melancholia”, but it strips away the death metal aspects in favour of ambient and drone influenced sounds. The result is a blackened post-metal track whose ten and half minutes manage to be tranquil while being propulsive, a combination in line with many of the cutting edge metal acts of today.

“Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals” continues in a similar vein over the course of its next track, “Titan (Or The Day We Called It Quits)”. At just shy of four minutes, it is by the shortest track on the album (by over four minutes) and it feels like a blur when compared to the sprawling length of the other four tracks on the album. But despite its short length, “Titan (Or The Day We Called It Quits)” manages to make as much of an impact as any other track on the album, due largely to its hazy post-rock inspired tones and thunderous, tremolo-picked guitar riffs.  

It is followed by “In The Cut”, which, at over twelve and a half minutes, is the longest track on “Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals”. Viscera/// utilize the track’s length to touch upon every mood in album’s arsenal. “In The Cut” opens with a passage of dark, guitar driven psychedelic rock before morphing (rather naturally) into blood curtling black metal and diminishing into an ethereal, chiming clean section, all within the track’s first five minutes. Over its remaining seven a half minutes, “In The Cut” rebuilds its intensity, heaviness and energy, often dipping back down and becoming more impactful when it rises again. The album closes with the track “Anxiety Prevails”, the bitterest, evilest, and heaviest track anywhere on the album. While the other tracks on the album flit through sounds and emotions, “Anxiety Prevails” stays consistently nasty throughout its eight minutes, making it perhaps less adventurous and challenging than the album’s other tracks, but quite possibly its most enjoyable. 

“3: Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

REVIEW: Human Future - "Flat Earth Blues" (EP)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 08/06/2017

Label: Truthseeker Music

This is another thrilling blend of jarring styles that Human Future bring together in seamless fashion.  Although it is a shame to lose such a distinctive voice in the UKheavy underground, the band can be proud that they went out with a bang.

“Flat Earth Blues” CD//DD track listing:

1). IV

2). Swine

3). Axiom

4). None Shall Survive Through The Churn

5). V

The Review:

Human Future’s new EP “Flat Earth Blues” is a bitter-sweet affair due to the band’s announcement of their untimely demise shortly after its release. The UKquintet’s swansong is an ambitious and exhilarating listen tinged with sadness that the potential displayed on this brief but beguiling release will go unfulfilled.

Bookended by two atmospheric keyboard soundscapes, “Flat Earth Blues” is a captivating journey through wild shifts in mood and genre. “Swine” begins in dark post-hardcore territory, an urgent razor-edged groove that comes across like a heavier Self Defense Family. The volume and intensity increases until the music drops away to an ambient cloud of hypnotic repetition and slow-burning psychedelic lead guitar. This soon erupts into a searing solo as the band strike into an epic finale that feels like the perfect meeting point between post-rock and prog.

The other main attraction here is nine-minute behemoth “None Shall Survive Through The Churn”. This is another thrilling blend of potentially jarring styles that Human Future bring together in seamless fashion. The first half of the track shifts between blissed-out choral passages and huge slabs of widescreen slide-guitar assisted heaviness that come across like a combination of Envy and Earth. The second half sees proceedings collapse into glorious controlled chaos, fuelled by some impressive drumming that teeters on the edge between mathcore complexity and all-out grindcore fury

“Flat Earth Blues” is a fine parting gesture from Human Future. Although it is a shame to lose such a distinctive voice in the UKheavy underground, the band can be proud that they went out with a bang.

“Flat Earth Blues” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Kollapse - "Angst"

By: Jay Hampshire

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 19/05/2017

Label: Wooaaargh

 

“Angst” see’s Kollapse unafraid to mix their influences, and their musicianship and talent sees them more than capable of pulling this off.

“Angst” CS//DD//LP listing

1). Void (04:36)

2. Death Of A Monotheist (02:06)

3. Gueules Cassées (06:42)

4. Till Holle (05:11)

5. Blinding Light (03:19)

6. Nesting (06:17

7. Abandon (06:02)

The Review:

Denmark’s Kollapse confound and impress in equal measure with their latest full length, “Angst”. A shifting gauntlet of bared influence and canny execution, it’s a strange blend of the eerily familiar and being kept on your toes. “Void” kicks things off with a scything tremolo drive worthy of black metal, descending into frantic blastbeats before meshing back together into a cleaner, more meditative section, swinging again into slowly stuttering chords and shimmering cymbals. “Death Of A Monotheist” is a short, sharp blast of uptempo hardcore stomp, burning itself out fast.

“Gueules Cassées” is a multi-layered rager, frustrated screams echoing late-era Breach in tone, steadily descending riffs boring down amid constantly changeable drums. Softer guitars jangle over smooth bass, a slower flow, evocative and moody, before atonal guitars needle in, living up to the album’s title. “Til Holle” bristles with predatory grooves and droning guitar lines, arguably the least fully fleshed out offering here. “Blinding Light” sees choked guitars and restrained drums contrasted with throaty, bellowed vocals, the crashing waves of post-metal chords and processional pace sounding like the end of a song rather than the start.

“Nesting” sweeps in with tremolo before turning the corner into a driving, righteous post-punk groove, blooming into layers of lighter, sorrowful guitar, piling up into an Isis-ian crescendo. Closer “Abandon” scratches and scrapes with a manic drive before bursting into a rushing melee of pacey punk ire, slowing into lumbering chords and layered screams. There’s lots of space, but rarely any silence or negative air.

“Angst” see’s Kollapse unafraid to mix their influences, and their musicianship and talent sees them more than capable of pulling this off. Perhaps the biggest flaw with their sound is their need to err ever on the side of drama. Each song here has a section (and many have a backbone solely comprised of one) that pushes upwards and outwards, hinged on the wide scope and crescendo of post rock. While it’s undeniably enjoyable to behold, it seems to suck the power out of these uplifting, soaring moments. While probably more affecting live, it leaves you wondering about a loss of impact. If everything’s a crescendo, surely nothing is?

“Angst” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook