sludge

Referencing the notorious San Francisco district Haight Ashbury, Bongripper relishes another opportunity to smash the hippie mold. Hate Ashbury re-affirms the Chicago quartet’s slogan, “The only good hippie is a dead hippie.” A hostile illustration plasters Hate Ashbury with anti-beatnik animosity. All peace, love, and happiness vanish as the fingers of the peace sign are […]

Howl In the current issue of Decibel (#44, Iron Maiden cover), I’ve done the “Throw Me a Frickin’ Bone!” column, which reviews demos and unsigned records. Some of them are actually good. The two of note this time are by Howl and Mendozza. Both are hairy and sound like it. (One of my non-metalhead friends […]

Paris’ answer to Eyehategod, Eibon have a new promo CD out. Its two massive tracks total 22 and a half minutes in length. Eibon hammer riffs into the ground with the best of ’em, yet shape them into surprisingly graceful journeys. “Asleep and Threatening” is the more aggressive offering, and is audible on Eibon’s MySpace. […]

Swedes can bring the umlauts, too. Tid hail from Linköping (and Stockholm) and have a bassist named Björn, a guitarist named Söderberg, and songs titled “Synvända” and “Västanvind.” I can’t do much with the Swedish lyrics other than bask in the profusion of umlauts and cute little circles above the letter “a.” (The one in […]

The Secret I was watching UFC a few nights ago, and it occurred to me that brutal music is like mixed martial arts. One has to vary one’s attack. When bands do blastbeats for entire songs, that’s like going into a fight doing only high kicks. You look for any opening, then shoot in and […]

Speaking of The Ocean, I’ve reviewed their album Precambrian at Pitchfork. It came out last November, so it didn’t make many year-end lists (if I ran a label, I would finish each year’s release schedule by October for such purposes). Precambrian would have – or should have – dominated them. Sadly, there’s no critic herd […]

In the dirtbag tour of the year, Kylesa are hitting the road with The Ocean, Lair of the Minotaur, and Withered. (I think I grew chest hair just typing that.) These stars will only align for a few dates – see below. However, they’re also touring separately or in smaller combinations; for schedules, click the […]

Up at Decibel, I have reviews of Blotted Science (new project of Ron Jarzombek), Devian (new project of Legion, ex-Marduk), and Rigor Sardonicous (slower-than-slow dooooom), as well as a feature on Portuguese black metallers Corpus Christii, whose recent record Rising is sick-sick-sick. The print version (#41, At the Gates cover) also has my live review […]

Speaking of Steve Albini, he recorded God Luck and Good Speed (Southern Lord, 2007) by Wilmington, NC’s Weedeater. Vocalist/bassist Dave “Dixie” Collins has done time in heavyweights Buzzoven, Bongzilla, and Sourvein. Thus, Weedeater unsurprisingly brings more downtuned filth, this time in the NOLA sludge/doom style of Eyehategod, Down, and so on. God Luck and Good […]

Yeah! I have not been this excited by a demo in a long, long time. For an extremely young band (their first show was in November), Kowloon Walled City are absolutely killing it (if you don’t know what the band is named after, one of the Earth’s most unique places ever, rectify that here). The […]