Noosebomb - Brainfood for the Braindead

I assume that because you're on this blog you like bands like Noosebomb, so here's some Noosebomb. With two members from Grief, scratchy-throat vocals, grinding guitars, liberal use of samples and an overall lethargic tempo you pretty much know from the first song what you're getting in to, though elements of grind, d-beat, and straight up punk peek through. Fans of Grief certainly won't be disappointed.
Final Verdict: this is the kind of music I like to get drunk to.

Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt

Another 'Southern Lord' treasure -- Those dudes from SUNN O))) team up with a norwegian exchange student to make some crushing doom jams. Heavy Monolithic Lumbering Sludgy stuff with a kind of subtle Black Sabbath vibe to it, backed with some deep-n-low growls mixed with chanting. 'Troll' is the fucking shit.

I just wish their name didn't sound like a slay-the-dragon-siege-the-castle type band. Like Hammerfall or something. I fucking hate that band.

Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt

--fred

Kowloon Walled City - Gambling on the Richter Scale

Kowloon Walled City is a band I never really got until recently. I heard their first EP and dug it...but only to the point of half-listening to the first few tracks, agreeing with a riff here and there then veering off to listen to something else.

Sentiments of the "ass-heavy", "low-end", and other popular buzzwords (or conjugations, whatever) used by people, including myself, to describe this band barely do justice to express what's special about this band, and more specifically, their new record Gambling on the Richter Scale. If you're familiar with their EP, think of this as the track 'Turning Into Bricks' expanded into eight tracks, heavy riffage and verse-trailing solos included.

Using the word "heavy" to describe their music may prove deceiving. The bar has been raised so high in music in terms of technical ability within the past decade that the definition of "heavy" has transformed from the indulgence of a slow complimentary solo to shitty soulless tech-grind breakdowns. It's debasing to say what they've created is simple...less technical songs display a different sort of musical ability than masturbatory solos and string fingering.

Compare their music to what Soundgarden was doing before they fizzled out in the mid-nineties. Dark, heavy, depressing kind of shit. The ability to conjure emotion with instrumentals is what defined their heaviness...and this stands as the same case for KWC. Track for track, this record is a slurry of voluminous thick spirited and urban-centric songs rooted by this strong backbone of murky music born by the many grit-toothed noise rock (and grunge) bands that came before them. Although, most of the tracks do embody this sort of slow dark-melodic sort of feel, they do indulge in the kind of heavy-flesh-grinding minimalist sludge comparable to Corrupted.

And that's just what makes KWC so attractive...they have this awesome dynamism that sounds great, but doesn't make their records incohesive. Check it out:

Kowloon Walled City - Gambling on the Richter Scale

(COME TO MARYLAND)

--fred

Churches Burn - Adversary

Churches Burn are from Colombus, Ohio and don't have nearly as many fans as they should. They've got this killer bass-deep kinda tone that's covered in layers of filth and grime with some psych fringes here and there...they're pretty comparable to JAIL, but I like 'em a lot more.

Churches Burn - Adversary

Melvins - Three Albums You Already Have

Here we are again, on the pre-ignition of another monday, and there's none more of an appropriate time for us to appreciate the Melvins. (MELVINS MONDAY!) That and I have more schoolwork I'm avoiding.

Prior to 93, the Melvins were anything but typical compared to their contemporaries from the region (see: grunge); they were sludge, they were metal, they were punk. When that whole dumb thing in the north-west corner happened...something changed. Bullhead wasn't too far removed from the formula we heard on Ozma--if anything it represented a transitional period. But in 1993, they veered off-course for better or worse.

The Melvins made a straight-ahead "rock" album, not unlike what everyone else was doing at the time. Were they cashing in? Were they taking the piss out of everyone else? It's not like they completely abandoned what they were doing before and turned to some contrived sound without reason; vestiges of their old style still soaked through in a few tracks (Hag Me, Copache, Set Me Straight, At the Stake, yadda yadda). What gets me about the whole change is that it's not like what they were doing on Ozma, Bullhead, and Eggnog was worn out or unoriginal...they fucking INVENTED sludge and played it for not even 5 years--then said fuck it--and moved on. Something so innovative, so new and fresh, although not all that accessible compared to other music, was at the very least THEIRS...and they just fucking threw it aside for other bands to pick up and march on with.

Really though, if they hadn't grown into a different genre of music, chances are their records would've ended up as stale, boring and unexciting as a Slayer or Cannibal Corpse release...the type of shit that only someone like Angry Pantera Kid would cum all over himself about. Or they could've suffered a slow painful death like TAD did from the mid to late nineties.

...nonetheless: whatever they were doing--they did it WELL, and that's what counts. Here's to 3 years of Mark D, solos, and KISS covers:

1993 - Houdini
1994 - Stoner Witch
1996 - Stag

--fred

Depressor - Splits and 7"s

Depressor is Sludge-Thrash from ????. Info on this band is hard to come by...but half the fun in listening to music is finding it, which is very much the case when it comes to Depressor. I've ran across a few splits and 7"s of theirs, along with a record by the band that pre-existed Depressor; Charger (like a more driving-hardcore version of Depressor). Rest assured these are all drum-machine free (and the crustiest most awesome shit you'll hear in awhile):

Depressor
Self Titled 7"
Book of the Dead 7"
Depressor/Unholy Grave Split
Depressor/Agathocles Split

Charger - Wake Up! Call to Arms 7"

--fred

Reality Part #2 Comp.

Every single band you've ever really liked is on this compilation...and you know what else?


They're all broken up now.

(NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

Asshole Parade - Soldiers
Excrutiating Terror - Without Mercy
Dystopia - Backstabber
Infest - Cold Inside
Despise You - Memories of Tomorrow
Lack of Interest - No Sweat
Gasp - Planet Of The Apes
Suppression - Gangland Bodystak'em
Noothgrush - Encasing
NoComply - The Empire Kids
Spazz - Animal Liberation Now
Purgatoria - Infamous Deception
Man Is The Bastard - Untitled
Capitalist Casualties - Sentenced
Stapled Shut - Chavala
Enemy Soil - Common Ground
Evolved to Obliteration - Fucked up Asshole
Bad Acid Trip - Plate of Shrimp
C:### - Skidmark

Reality Part #2 Comp.

--fred

Mammoth Grinder - Extinction of Humanity

Dirty ass thrash-punk from Texas played at rollicking-grindcore speed, minus the blastbeats. Thick as shit with solos galore:

Mammoth Grinder - Extinction of Humanity

--fred

Behold! The Monolith - Self Titled

This marks the lumbering, calculated, and none too soon return of LA's battle-geared 'Monolith'.This release follows their crushing, tersely unnamed EP, and shows no hint of the Battlestag slowing down anytime soon.

Little has changed since we've last heard from 'Behold! The Monolith'; they're still the ravenous metallic sludge-trompers we encountered earlier this year...and then some. With this new outing, they've displayed, moreso than before, a dynamic adaption between calm, war, and utter turmoil that proves the band is geared for growth in the future...for the better. They blend the buzz and rumble of High on Fire and RWAKE, with the artful progressive roots of bands like Mastodon; ultimately displaying the capability and courage to put aside the sludgehammer and ponder upon the smoother guitar licks. But when they do get heavy...they're relentless.

Behold! The Monolith - Self Titled (320 kbps)

--fred

Thrones - Sperm Whale

Joe Preston's ass-heavy, bass-driven one man project reminiscent of the Melvins evil sludgy skull crushing wonder years. There's a whole lot of character hidden in that survivalist beard:

Thrones - Sperm Whale

The Whip

Here's a band formed by Jared Warren and Scott Jernigan of KARP, as well as Joe Preston (of every sludge band you've ever liked). They only existed for around a year, or possibly less, before 'The Whip' came to a complete halt following the accidental and untimely death of Jernigan. Here we have their only official release, a 7-inch released on Wantage Records (check left sidebar), as well as a small collection of loose-ends, including two untitled tracks and a cover of Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy".

Don't get this confused with that hipster electro garbage:

The Whip

--fred

Ramesses - Misanthropic Alchemy

Ramesses is Blackened-Doom-Sludge from Dorset, England. The band holds two ex-members from 'Electric Wizard', another Dorset-based Doom Metal band. They left the band in 2003 a few years after recording 'Dopethrone', leaving Jus Osborn as the only founding member still in the band.

Ramesses - Misanthropic Alchemy

Twin Threats To Your Sanity 2x7"

Double Split album released back in 2001 featuring a live performance of 'Diary of a Battered Child' by Dystopia, a cover of 'Procreation of the Wicked' by NOOTHGRUSH, a live version of 'Gestation' by Bongzilla, and 'Nieve' by Japanese sludge-doomers Corrupted.

Twin Threats to Your Sanity 2x7"

--fred

Dark Castle - Spirited Migration

Sludge-Doom two-piece from Florida with female fronted vocals ala Grey. Heavy shit; atmospheric in the vein of RWAKE:

Dark Castle - Spirited Migration

Black Skies - Aqua Dogs/Family Man 7"

Here's a glimpse at the band when they first started--before Cameron joined as their drummer. Aqua Dogs is an abrasive stoned-out sludge swim you'd expect from the band nowadays, while Family Man is a 3 and a half minute rollicking instrumental jam. You can buy the record straight from the source through paypal off of their myspace.

myspace

This one's a personal vinyl rip:
Black Skies - Aqua Dogs / Family Man 7"

--fred

Black Skies at WMUC (11/23/08)

I've been meaning to post this among a few other things for a good while now...this is an on-air recording of Black Skies' performance, as well as an interview (with us), here at WMUC late last year. Kevin was "Rock Hard", Trey and Cam made a love connection, and Michelle played with Sonny's Big Muff (DEATHAMMER). Good show, good times:

Black Skies Live @ WMUC 11.23.08

In case you want to hear the rest of the show featuring DEATHAMMER's set and hilarious interview, check it out here.

--fred

Black Skies - Hexagon EP

Black Skies is a Sludge Rock band hailing from Chapel Hill, NC. I'm pretty sure they've only released two 7"s and one EP, of which has proved itself pretty popular on the stoner/sludge blogosphere thus far. Black Skies plays straight-ahead sludged-out rock, not unlike 'High on Fire', with the grittier (and LOUD) sensibilities of 'Jucifer'.

I could go on forever about how awesome the band is and what great people they are...but you probably don't want to read that. I will say however that they have recently released their EP on Vinyl in very limited quantities, so pick it up while you still can:

Buy their LP
myspace

Black Skies - Hexagon (320 kbps)

--fred

Black Cobra

Here's a sludge two-piece project based in San Francisco, CA formed by Jason Landrian (Cavity) and Rafael Martinez (ex-16, Acid King). They mix the low frequency buzz of Floor with the exuberance of KARP and wrap it all up in dissonance to give you the neat little package that is 'Black Cobra'. This is their first full length album, released back in 2006:

Black Cobra - Bestial

--fred

NOOTHGRUSH - Erode the Person (Original and Thrones Re-release)

NOOTHGRUSH has only released songs on a little more than a handful of splits and maybe a 7" here and there, so 'Erode the Person', meant to be a compilation, is good representation of their body of work. A bit of a problem arose though, for me at least, when I went to re-download this after my last hard drive died; 'Erode the Person' was released twice--two different albums with separate cover art and track listings. So, to counter-act that, I'm uploading both the original version of 'Erode' along with the "Thrones Release", which was put out 3 years ago. Of the two, I prefer the original for it's tracklisting, as it has 'Gage' and 'Sysyphus Narrow Way', however the "Thrones Release" has it's own edge in sound quality, as well as a few songs exclusive onto itself. Can't go wrong here:

Original 'Erode the Person'
Thrones Release: Part 1 Part 2

--fred

Salome - Self-Titled

This is Salome (Sal-Om-May not Sal-Low-Me or Salami) from Northern Virginia. I had the pleasure of seeing these three at the Nowarehouse along with Oak and two other bands that I've completely forgotten about. There was some black or death metal band that seemed to be making a big deal about themselves because they were about to go to tour in Europe but who cares whatever.

Salome is heavy. Really heavy. A kind of crushing misanthropy that could have only come from a real shithole like Northern Virginia. The vocals are something akin to NOOTHGRUSH, something you wouldn't really expect from meeting their vocalist in person (she's apparently also the new vocalist for Agoraphobic Nosebleed). The guitar work is patient and sloth-like, occasionally breaking into Stoner Rock trips before bringing back the heavy. Most of the album keeps a crawling sort of pace with some bludgeoning riffs here and there (most of Black Tides).

Check it out:

Salome - Self-Titled
Buy (It's either this or you go to a show and buy it.)



--fred