sludge metal

Profile: Roger Kilburn of Bréag Naofa

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Breag Naofa
Bréag Naofa – pic courtesy of David Heinecke

Recently, Seattle’s Bréag Naofa released their EP Cearo via their Bandcamp page in digital and vinyl formats. And have since released II via Halo of Flies and, again, on their Bandcamp page. So, needless to say they’ve been busy but what they offer is an expansively dark version of post metal sprinkled with sludge and black metal. To dismiss it would be a grave error as the results of both Cearo and II are stunning and extremely well executed. We got the chance to ask Roger Kilburn (guitars) our set of Profile questions and he was kind enough to oblige with great answers. See for yourself after the jump.

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Album Review: american – “Violate and Control”

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american Violate And Control digi cover 1500x1500

Black metal and noise have always been strange bedfellows.  Both, after all, seek to test the boundaries of what would be considered “listenable” in various capacities.  It stands to reason, then, that the combination of the two genres would be the ultimate essence of this desire to make the darkest and harshest music imaginable.  Enter american, and their new album Violate and Control, which sees the band utilize these concepts to create something truly menacing. Continue reading →

Profile: Daz Rowlands of Space Witch

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Space Witch
Space Witch
Beginning in 2007 the UK’s Space Witch have grown by leaps and bounds since their self titled demo and with a handful of releases under their belt the June 9 release of their second full length Arcanum will prove just how much they actually have grown. They’ve crossed lines with doom, stoner and sludge metal but this time the band makes the best use of prog/psychedelic elements to create their most multifaceted sound to date but heavy nonetheless. We recently had the opportunity to ask Daz Rowlands (Guitar, FX) our set of Profile questions — read on to see what he had to say.

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Album Review: The Ditch and the Delta – “Hives in Decline”

Chris1 Comment

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Before we dive into Hives in Decline, the debut LP from The Ditch and the Delta allow me a moment to lament the original introduction to this piece, which I thought was a fair and funny bit about how a successful sludge album is a lot like a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup™.  I’m not saying it was comedy gold, but it was clever and fun and served to set the theme for the review.  Alas, when doing digging into their previous EP I saw that another publication essentially used the same joke (and better, to be fair).

So farewell, original intro.  I thought you were funny, but so did someone else, and almost two earlier to boot.  At least you served as fodder for this new intro.  Now let’s talk about massive riffs and grooves instead.   Continue reading →

Interview: Dodecad on Influences, Conceptual Themes and the Impact of Noise

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Dodecad
Dodecad

Recently our inbox received an email from a Missouri based band called Dodecad and rather than simply saying who they were and what they play the message went into further particulars. Namely the way they described themselves, things they had read and a chance encounter with Eyehategod’s Dixie Whiskey all served to pique my interest. And the funny thing was they weren’t pushing a new album, in fact their last EP, Growth, came out in 2015. Again, interest piqued. So, I dove in intently and listened to the two EP’s that are currently available and was blown away by their intense mixture of noise rock, sludge and at times mathy song structures. Needless to say in a short 20 plus minute span I became a fan and had to know more (proving that sometimes good things can come by pure chance). I wanted to know just what or who influenced them, more on the concepts behind the cerebral artwork and numeric titles, and the personal impact that noise has had on these individuals and the band itself. As you will see in the band’s responses they were more than gracious with their time and give immense insight into all of this and more. Read on after the jump.

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