SATAN'S DOZEN: 13 Unearthly Hymns Unearthed #6 (January 2018)

Compiled by: Andrei Moose

Artwork by: Josh Mashesh

SATAN’S DOZEN is THE SLUDGELORD’s attempt to present the very best music the underground scene has to offer and whilst we’d love to review every band submission we receive, not to mention the countless recommendations you send our way, in practical terms that is just not possible.  Therefore because we don’t want killer music to pass you by, each and every month our member of the Russian chapeter Andrei Moose  painstakingly sifts through the music labelled  killer  riffs” and chooses 13 of the best new albums released via bandcamp and bundles them together into the mightiest riff sandwich.

Whilst all the albums we have included below are top tier stuff, we have compiled them into a chart on a sliding scale of 13-1. So we hope you dig our selections for January 2018 and enjoy 13 Unearthly Hymns Unearthed.  

These bands need more exposure, so go “like” “share” and “follow” their pages, but most of all enjoy some of the best music the underground has to offer.  THE SLUDGELORD most sincerely approves.   Now, go heavy or go home.

13) Sons Of Nibiru – “Hellspirit” (Rzeszow, Poland), Released December 16, 2017

Psychedelic / Stoner-Doom

   
12) Borgonaut – “Borgonaut”EP (Trieste, Italy), Released January 31, 2018

Stoner-doom / Sludge

   
11) FILTHxCOLLINS / SKINLOVER – “Split 7” (Cardiff, UK), Released January 21, 2018

Sludge / Grindcore / Powerviolence

   
10) Taser – “Social Exclusion Blues” (Lahti, Finland), Released January 19, 2018

Sludge

   
9) Dowager – “Hymns for the Dead” (Los Angeles, California), Released January 1, 2018

Stoner-Doom

     

8) Nerveshatter – “Madhouse”(New York(, Released January 9, 2018

Noise / Hardcore / Sludge

   
7) Troll Teeth – “Boiled Alive” (New Jersey), Released January 1, 2018

Psychedelic / Stoner-Rock / Stoner-Metal

   
6) Psychic Lemon – “Frequency Rhythm Distortion Delay”(London, UK), Released January 12, 2018

Instrumental / Psychedelic / Kraut / Prog / Rock

   
5) Floaters – “WAITING FOR AMNESTY” (Tokyo, Japan), Released December 29, 2017

Stoner-Doom / Sludge

4) Smoke – “Stoned To Death” (Houma, Louisiana), Released January 12, 2018

Stoner-Doom / Sludge

   
3) The Mothercraft – “Pillars” (Edmonton, Alberta), Released January 5, 2018

Stoner-Rock

 
2) Legalize Crime – “Beat The Law” (Wroclaw, Poland), Released March 30, 2017

Sludge / Hardcore / Stoner-Metal

    

1) Orphans Of Doom – “Strange Worlds/Fierce Gods” (Kansas City, Missouri), Released January 26, 2018

Progressive/ Sludge / Doom / Metal

Band info: Orphans of Doom || Legalize Crime|| The Mothercraft|| Smoke || Floaters || Psychic Lemon || Troll Teeth || Nerveshatter|| Dowager|| Taser || Skin Lover || FilthXCollins || Borgonaut|| Sons of Nibiru

ALBUM REVIEW: Friendship - "Hatred"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 03/11/2017

Label: Southern Lord Records |

Daymare Recordings | Sentient Ruin

Laboratories

Over the course of twenty five crushing minutes, the band show they have honed their potent blend of crust, powerviolence, grind and sludge to deadly perfection. “Hatred” feels like burying your face in a bowl of razorblades while being kicked in the stomach.

“Hatred” CD//CS//DD//LP track listing:

1). Rejected

2). Regiside

3). Corrupt

4). Tortures

5). Compton

6). Grief

7). Life Sentence

8). Blue Berry

9). Execution

10). Dirtbags

11). El Chapo

12). Treason

The Review:

The dust has barely settled from my recent exposure to Friendship’sfacemelting EP compilation. The Tokyo wrecking crew have wasted no time in releasing their debut LP “Hatred”, a relentless assault on the senses that cements their position as the current masters of all things short, fast and horrible.

Over the course of twenty five crushing minutes, the band show they have honed their potent blend of crust, powerviolence, grind and sludge to deadly perfection. There is a new found clarity and gut-churning heaviness to their bludgeoning onslaught. This has resulted in a marginally less raw and chaotic experience than before but still feels like burying your face in a bowl of razorblades while being kicked in the stomach.

“Rejected” and “Regicide” open the record in furious fashion like a warp-speed Iron Lung. Both tracks feature carefully deployed bursts of squealing feedback like a lead instrument, particularly powerful during the cacophonous climax of the latter. “Life Sentence” and “Blue Berry” find Friendshipmixing in punishing, chug-heavy sludge riffs in amongst the high octane punk mayhem that bring an intoxicating air of hardcore brutality. The bands interest in the heavier and slower side of life is most evident in the monstrous “Corrupt”, a low tempo bruiser that bristles with Eyehategod/Noothgrush sludge attitude.

A re-recorded version of “Compton” from the band’s debut EP makes an appearance at the LPs mid-point. It is significantly burlier than its predecessor and encapsulates all that makes Friendship great in two minutes. Fret-mangling noise rock riffs lead to passages of exhilarating knuckle-dragging simplicity, a perfect balance of innovation and primal no-frills punk rock.

With “Hatred”, Friendshiphave delivered in style on the immense promise of their early work.

“Hatred”is available here

Band info: bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Friendship - "I&II"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 10/02/2017

Label: Sentient Ruin Laboratories

“I & II” is a devastating slab of high octane noise-riddled evil that makes most heavy bands sound weak and feeble in comparison.  The band’s brief outbursts of messy, feedback riddled punk mayhem are as exhilarating as they are terrifying.

“I & II”CS//DD//LP track listing:

1). Jerusalem

2). T.R.Ø.Y

3). Bill Evans

4). €ompton

5). Represent

6). Bottomless Pit

7). Abuse

8). SB

9). Hype

10). Slaughterhouse

11). Law

12). El Chapo

The Review:

Japan’s Friendship have delivered the nastiest listening experience of 2017 in the form of their “I & II”LP. This release brings together their first two self-released EPs to form one concentrated blast of aural terror. Incendiary opener “Jerusalem” packs more carnage into thirty three seconds than most bands manage in a whole album. It’s a punishing onslaught of frantic, ugly grindcore that sets the tone for horror to come.

Friendship take the sludge-coated powerviolence of Iron Lung and Weekend Nachosand ramp up the intensity and aggression way into the red and beyond. The band’s brief outbursts of messy, feedback riddled punk mayhem are as exhilarating as they are terrifying but they are at their most effective when they explore the extremes of the tempo spectrum within the space of a single track.

“T.R.Ø.Y”begins at a snail’s pace as the bass and drums carve out a torturous minimal riff that creates an air of bleak foreboding. This makes the eruption of furious crust that follows all the more potent. There are hints of off-kilter noise rock weirdness in amongst the wreckage too, best exemplified by the insane opening riff to “€ompton”. Somehow Friendship manage to take this construction of pummelling chords, bizarre string bends and ringing discord and make it the basis of a straight ahead grind assault. As the track progresses it slows and degenerates into a pit of barely-mobile doom torment reminiscent of Primitive Manat their most oppressive.

“I & II”is a devastating slab of high octane noise-riddled evil that makes most heavy bands sound weak and feeble in comparison.  If these two EP’s are a hint of Friendship’s fearsome power I suggest taking cover now in preparation for a full-length offering.      

“I & II”is available here

ALBUM REVIEW: The Drip - "The Haunting Fear of Inevitability"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/01/2017

Label: Relapse Records

Over the course of a breathless half an hour they tear through thirteen cuts of crusty death metal infused grindcore. A healthy dose of melody cuts through the violence that brings to mind a cross between Nasum and At The Gates.  “The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” is an enjoyable shot of breakneck, bile-soaked rage that marks The Drip as a band to watch.

“The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” CD//DD//LP

1. Blackest Evocation
2. Anathema
3. Gruesome Poetics
4. Dead Inside
5. Covered In Red
6. Terror War Industry
7. Painted Ram
8. Wretches
9. In Atrophy
10. The Answer
11. Exile
12. Consigned to Fate
13. Bone Chapel

The Review:

Washington quintet The Drip certainly don’t mess around on their furious debut “The Haunting Fear of Inevitability”.

Over the course of a breathless half an hour they tear through thirteen cuts of crusty death metal infused grindcore. A healthy dose of melody cuts through the violence that brings to mind a cross between Nasum and At The Gates. The band aren’t averse to slowing things down either and add some meaty sludgy riffs into the mix to powerful effect and even drag their heels to a doomy crawl during the epic climax of “Wretches”.

The Dripare at their most effective when they  blaze through a variety of styles and tempos during the space of a single track as demonstrated on explosive curtain raiser “Blackest Evocation” or emerge from a blur of speed into a killer riff such as the crunching send-off of “In Atrophy”.  The stand out moments of the record hit hard but there are times when the band’s onslaught lacks that killer instinct and passes by without leaving a lasting impression. However, as a short-term adrenaline rush it can’t be faulted.

“The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” is an enjoyable shot of breakneck, bile-soaked rage that marks The Drip as a band to watch. Once they have honed their attack to perfection they could be a force to be reckoned with.

“The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” is available here

Band info: facebook|| bandcamp