TOP 16 ALBUMS: The Sour 16 (September 2017)

Allow yourself to indulge in a hefty dose of riffs, because it is time to present 16 of the best albums from September, it is time for your SOUR 16. 

You know the drill by now, each month you the reader are unwittingly compiling a list of the top 16 records of the month, covering all genres of metal.  Is it not a chart, in which reviewers or contributors extol their opinion about their favourite music.  To put it simply, THE SOUR 16 are the records that have been trending the most at SLUDGELORD HQ.

The results are compiled based on the amount of page views the reviews have received and are then calibrated into the list below.  All reviews can be viewed by clicking the artwork and we have included album streams wherever possible. (Total views since their publication are highlighted in the red)

16). Boris - "Dear"(623)

From the opening track, “D.O.W.N. –Domination of Waiting Noise–“, Boris conveys punishing volume so effectively that your ears will ache at practically any level.  Every note and every layered vocal has been obsessed over, placed perfectly in the mix, and acts as a distillation of twenty-five years of intense collaborative synthesis.

15). Order - "Lex Amentiae" (637)

This is harsh, in-your-face, old-school black metal. From the opener "Winter" onward, Order stakes a claim to the thorny crown with its barbarous shrieks, lumbering bass and unyielding guitars.

14). Biblical - "The City That Always Sleeps" (679)

“Mature Themes,” the opening track and lead-off single, certainly showcases a barrage of noise that hits like a barbed-wire baseball bat, but rather than making miles doing this sludgy-psych thing, Biblical branches out far and wide, traversing sonic landscapes that are as vast as the country the band calls home.

13). Major Kong - "Brace for Impact" (713)

Poland's Major Kong tests the limits of music with its new recording, "Brace for Impact." The eight-song release is entirely instrumental and rooted in a science fiction theme. Heady indeed, but Major Kong give you a dense, impressive album regardless.

12). Made Of Teeth- "Made Of Teeth" (721)

Made Of Teeth have produced a confident, punchy, and savage debut that provides the listener with labyrinthine levels of surprises around each corner.

11). Monarch - "Never Forever" (784)

Monarch orchestrates layers upon layers of sound that roil gently like a dirty bayou. Bresson's vocals – from plaintive wisps to growls and beyond – make Monarch unlike anything else you hear in doom or drone. Such innovation is why the outfit has cultivated a devoted following throughout their extensive career. Never Forever" gives you a side of Monarch that is rarely seen, and is indicative of a fearless performance. Drone is seldom this accessible, or distinguished.

10). Usnea - "Portals Into Futility" (815)

The guitars are thoroughly dissonant and murky, the bass is husky and drums voluminous. Then there are the vocals, which feel like they're being delivered with the sort of urgency of someone trapped at the bottom of a deep well. The whole composition of the record is just magnificent for doom fans.

9). Queens of the Stone Age - "Villains" (1040)

The musicianship is some of the best out there, and QOTSA knows its lane and sticks with it. Suffice to say, if you are already a QOTSA fan, chances are this recording will not disappoint, or may just a little. For others, there is an entirely different dialogue.

8). Ufomammut - "8"(1078)

The time signatures will still have you scratching your head and the chugging rhythms are no less heady as they are pummeling. The choice to structure songs rather than to orchestrate them means that the ideas unfold quicker than what we’re used to. A totally different listening experience, sure, but it’s one that offers yet another opportunity to throw some quality, heavy psychedelic doom on the turntable.

7). Spirit Adrift - "Curse of Conception" (1119)

“Curse of Conception” is a glorious success and a dazzling evolution of an already excellent band. 

6). Dyscarnate- "With All Their Might" (1181)

For those death metal fans expecting endless blasting, look elsewhere. For those who want a pit destroying festival of riffs: look no further. This is Dyscarnate’s best album so far and a real beast of modern death metal.

5). With The Dead - "Love From With The Dead" (1401)

The opening quartet of tracks here offers up a relentless onslaught of earth-shaking doom. Tim Bagshaw is on fine form, unleashing an endless stream of mammoth riffs and lead guitar that channel the hazy evil of his finest moments in Ramesses.  Lee Dorrian’s half spoken, half roared vocals work well in amongst the carnage and are a breath of fresh air in the modern doom landscape.

4). Belphegor - "Totenritual" (1802)

Once again, as they have over the vast majority of their discography, Belphegor has produced an excellent album of the best blackened death metal. This is every bit as good as anything else the band has put out from one of the best extreme bands in the world, no question.

3). Satyricon - "Deep Calleth Upon Deep" (1914)

 ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ is something of a spiritual successor to ‘Rebel Extravaganza’ in that the goal appears to have been to take an established sound and create the weirdest, artsiest version of it they could and there is evidence of a sweeping creative resurgence throughout the album as a whole.

2). Monolord - "Rust" (2105)

Monolord hits all the superlative notes when it comes to doom and the album's closing tracks, "Forgotten Lands" and "At Niceae," are as close to perfect as you can get.

1). Paradise Lost - "Medusa"(5226)

Depthless despair, thick production with pounding drums accentuating the force of the material and those classic melodic leads are all encompassing, making this their heaviest album  in years and amongst their best. “Medusa” can and will turn you to stone- as you will be shocked and stilled by just how good it is.

A big thank you as always to our amazing writers, your dedication knows no boundaries and for that I am truly grateful.  September 2017’s SOUR 16 features reviews by:  Richard Maw, Daniel Jackson, Charlie Butler, Mark Ambrose, Victor Van Ommen, Conor O’Dea, Jay Hampshire & Ernesto Aguilar

ALBUM REVIEW: Spirit Adrift - "Curse of Conception"

By: Conor O’Dea

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 06/10/2017

Label: 20 Buck Spin

“Curse of Conception” is a glorious success and a dazzling evolution of an already excellent band. 

“Curse of Conception” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Earthbound

2). Curse Of Conception

3). To Fly On Broken Wings

4). Starless Age (Enshrined)

5). Graveside Invocation

6). Spectral Savior

7). Wakien

8). Onward, Inward

The Review:

I tend to approach reviews with a fair degree of two things: reservation and resolve. Reservation, because it is actually pretty tough to write about music you love and try to convey the message of why you love it to a broad audience without jumping to superlatives in every sentence. It is a task I always approach with trepidation, and this anxiety is in direct positive correlation with how much I love the music in question. Resolve is obviously a corollary of this: one has to steel oneself to 'analyze' what one really just wants to 'experience'. How can I accurately convey not just my enjoyment of art someone else has created, but ultimately, share my profound appreciation with not just other potential fans, but the artist or artists themselves? Particularly without either missing the interpretive boat or engaging in sloppy ellipsis? 

When I was lucky enough to convince THE SLUDGELORD to let me review Spirit Adrift's“Chained to Oblivion”, I had already been listening to it almost non-stop for several weeks. It was one of the albums of 2016 that I was most excited about, that I found most profoundly moving. It had and still has all the makings of a genre classic. That genre being heavy metal, not one of the vast and ever- propagating subgenres. My love of the debut album actually intensified some of my reservations about reviewing “Curse of Conception”: was I going to like it? Had Nate changed direction substantively? Was it still going to be the band I had grown to love? And here I default to throwing around superlatives: “Curse of Conception” is a glorious success and a dazzling evolution of an already excellent band. 

I would actually be hard pressed to say what 'element' I like most about Spirit Adrift on this album, but the vocals are again what truly set the band apart. Nate's harmonies are epic in every sense of the word, and they are brilliantly punctuated here by cresting on top of a guitar tone that somehow retains the doom-heavy fuzz of “Chained to Oblivion”, yet brings in a razor-sharp brightness that calls to mind the Metallicawith whom I first fell in love. The switch from Orange to the EVH tonal palate works flawlessly, letting Spirit Adrift remain deeply true to everything that made the first album stand out while allowing an adventurous, exciting sonic reframing. Sabbathian elements are retained in vocal passages like the title track without every descending into copy-catting or worship. Spirit Adrift take their influences seriously and respectfully, but there is never a sense of retread or anachronism; this album is grounded in tradition but massively innovative in approach. On tracks like “Starless Age”, this growth expresses itself as a mature fusion of some beloved and sacred moments in the metal cannon with a clear, decisive compositional voice. 

And lest I forget: the album is joyous, fun, revels in the interplay of the aforementioned harmonies with spectacular riffage and never-without-purpose soloing. Check out a burner like “Graveside Invocation”; you know Nate knows he's knocking it out of the park here. The peaks and troughs and dramatic build from song to song work like the best film scripts: pacing is everything. Case in point: the wonderful acoustic country-tinged psychedelia build of “Walkien”. I literally laughed out loud at how perfect the change was here at 1:59. Epic, indeed. I've wasted enough of your time: you should be listening to this album and not reading reviews about it. Go get it. Remember why metal is awesome.

“Curse Of Conception”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Spirit Adrift - "Chained to Oblivion"

By: Conor O’Dea

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 12/08/2016

Label: Prosthetic Records

This album is elegantly forged from beginning to end, and has no definable weak chinks in its armour.  Overall, this is likely to be an AOTY candidate for me, and one I have found myself returning to again and again in a variety of moods.

 “Chained to Oblivion” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Psychic Tide

2. Marzanna

3. Form and Force

4. Chained To Oblivion

5. The Hum of Our Existence

The Review:

For a subgenre associated with minimalist compositional structure, dirge-like chords and glacial meter, doom these days seems awfully susceptible to disruptive innovation. Powerful incumbents like Pallbearer and Yobare matched by the epic-level bulldozer of bands like Khemmis, whose debut “Absolution” cut deep furrows of new fandom across metaldom in 2015. This year, I believe the star of doom has risen anew yet again, and its name is Spirit Adrift.

To be fair, there are few plaudits and accolades that the superlative “Chained to Oblivion” has not already received since its August release. And the almost universal acclaim it has received is, to my mind, well deserved. This album is elegantly forged from beginning to end, and has no definable weak chinks in its armour. However, one of the things I found most surprising about this album is how emotionally moving I found certain passages and tracks. There is a deeply melodic sorrow that underpins the motifs on the album that fuses seamlessly with the heaviness.

Right from opener “Psychic Tide”, the listener is carried immediately into a slow but relentless (tidal, even) movement which is hypnotically accented by Nate Garrett's superb vocal harmonies. The highlight of an album of top-notch tracks is almost certainly the title track, however. There is a feeling of hearing something timeless and destined-to-be-classic when listening to this song; it is something that resonates long after the track has ended. In a genre replete with embarrassing lyrics, Nate has given us some gifted poetic observances, and ones that are elegantly matched to the death of seasons that is Autumn. Overall, this is likely to be an AOTY candidate for me, and one I have found myself returning to again and again in a variety of moods.

For anyone who enjoys this album, I strongly, strongly recommend listening to the “Behind-Beyond” EP Nate released in February, which includes the haunting “Specter of Ruin” and the uncharacteristically aggressive “Perpetual Passage”. While neither track fits “Chained to Oblivion” (the choice to release separately was definitely the right one), the EP is definitely a worthy listen.

“Chained to Oblivion” is available here

 Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

FFO: Khemmis, Pallbearer, Baroness, High on Fire

“Because 11 is one louder”: Nate Garrett (Spirit Adrift) chooses his Top 5 Doom Records

Spirit Adrift is in essence a solo project created by Nate Garrett, a song writer and multi instrumentalist who earned his spurs playing, recording and touring with as many bands as possible.  Following his own sonic path Garrett was guided by the masters in the art of heavy riffs, with bands like Black Sabbath, Neurosis and Eyehategod serving his guide in his quest to forge the perfect riff, during his most formative years.  Garrett would later share artistic and personal relationships with fellow Arkansans such as Deadbird, Rwake, Seahag and Pallbearer, with this experience from the southern heavy music scene leaving a lasting impression upon him.  In 2011, Garrett would move to Arizona, joining Take Over And Destroy and later Gatecreeper, who are currently creating quick a buzz within the underground metal scene. 

On the 21^st of August 2016 Nate Garrett’s Spirit Adrift would return with the release of their debut full length “Chained To Oblivion” via Prosthetic Records. The project in itself is a platform to realise his lifetime dedication to music and is the culmination of every bit of his musical experience.  Musically and lyrically, “Chained to Oblivion” is undoubtedly heavy but uniquely uplifting at the same time.  As the label bio comments “Spirit Adrift is a necessary healing process, and an artist’s attempt at contributing his own drop to the limitless well of music, a well that has kept him alive.”

Today at The Sludgelord, it a our pleasure to have Nate Garrett shares his thoughts on some of his favourite doom records, as we turn the dial up to 11, “Because 11 is one louder”

1. Black Sabbath – “Sabotage”(1975)

Sure, “Master of Reality” probably fits the doom bill more, but “Sabotage”has been my favorite album since the first time I heard it. Though this is a more experimental, maybe even progressive effort, the doom is still strong. Songs like “Hole in the Sky”, “Megalomania”, and “The Writ” are among the heaviest songs Sabbath ever did. I feel like they pushed the boundaries of what heavy music can be with this album, and it features Ozzy's all-time greatest vocals. The lyrics are introspective, surreal, and psychedelic. The songs evolve and grow as if they are living entities. I try to write music that sounds evil and beautiful at the same time, and “Sabotage” taught me how to do this. This album has had a bigger impact on me than any other piece of music.

2. Saint Vitus– “Die Healing” (1995)

This is my favorite Saint Vitus album, largely due to the vocals. Original vocalist Scott Reagers returns with a vengeance on this album. He nails the soaring traditional doom vocals, but what makes his singing special is when his voice disintegrates into psychotic howls and moans. It's one of the most unique vocals performances ever captured, and it's anchored by a band at their heaviest and most menacing. During the “Chained to Oblivion” sessions, I recorded a cover that hasn't been released yet, and the vocals were definitely inspired the unhinged delivery of Scott Reagers on”Die Healing”.

3. Warning– “Watching From A Distance” (2006)

I was thrilled to hear that Warning will be performing this entire album at Roadburn. This album is crushing sonically, and more importantly, emotionally too. Patrick Walker's lyrics and earnest delivery are heartbreaking. One of my primary goals with Spirit Adrift is to move people on a deep emotional level, and this is the album that introduced me to the painfully raw, confessional approach that is required to make that connection with the listener.

 

4. Rwake– “Voices of Omens” (2007)

 

I'm not sure if this qualifies as doom. I'm really not sure what it is at all. Rwakeis one of the most fascinating bands that has ever existed. The riffs and song structures are nothing short of genius. This band is on a level that few achieve, and their power is undefinable, indescribable. When I first moved from Oklahoma to Arkansas, I drove to Little Rockby myself to see Rwake play for the first time, right around the time “Voices of Omens” was released. My life has never been the same, and I still can't quite figure out what's going on with this band. It's terrifying.

 

5. Pallbearer– “Sorrow and Extinction” (2012)

The time I spent in Arkansaswas crucial to the formation of Spirit Adrift. The creativity and passion I witnessed there will be with me forever. I was friends with the Pallbearerguys before I had any idea of what they were capable of. This album blew my mind when I first heard it, and still does to this day. It has helped me through hard times in my life, and inspires me endlessly.

Spirit Adrift’s latest album “Chained to Oblivion” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook