Beyond the several flaws that this album clearly has, there is also a lot of good. This is a very shoddy album, but, compared to most bands like Body Void, these guys have more potential. Hopefully this potential will be met with their next release. What this album really needed was a little more organization and maybe some minor technicality. I'm not talking Necrophagist technicality, I mean something outside of the modern doom metal box. This album needed more pizazz. In total, this is one of the better modern doom metal albums I've heard (this excludes traditional doom metal acts such as Beastmaker), but their sound and delivery need to be improved.
Category: Sludge Metal
Boghaunter – Writhe
This EP has plenty of great things to offer (notably the fact that the bass doesn't always stick to what the guitar is doing). In fact, I am having a hard time finding anything wrong with this EP. The production is good; it's not the best, but this kind of music doesn't really need good production because it would, in my opinion, sound worse with better production. The riffs and structure are both great, spreading the good sections evenly throughout the music. I look forward to a full-length from this band.
Iron Pike – II EP
Since their first EP in 2015, it seems that Iron Pike have picked up a few things to add to their music. The most obvious one is the doom metal influence. Sludge metal is closely tied with doom metal, but it seems like Iron Pike have moved from sludge metal to doom metal with longer songs, more drawn-out riffs, and an overall psychedelic feel to their sound that was not with them in 2015.
Iron Pike – Iron Pike EP
Year Released: 2015 Genre: Sludge Metal Availability: Bandcamp (free download) Similar Artists: High on Fire Upon my first listen, Iron Pike did not impress me a whole lot with their music. It's not super original, but, at this point, does originality even exist in metal anymore? So, I'm just going to stick to not judging based … Continue reading Iron Pike – Iron Pike EP
Ground – I
Year Released: 2017 Genre: Sludge Metal, Doom Metal Country: Spain Availability: Bandcamp (free download) Similar Artists: High On Fire, Crowbar, Eyehategod, Mastodon Ground introduces their debut album, I, with a very stoner/doom metal approach. But after a while, the sludge kicks in. And your head starts to nod. And that adrenaline starts to course through your … Continue reading Ground – I
EP – Ground
Image from Bandcamp Artwork by Gustave Dore Year Released: 2016 Genre: Sludge Metal Country: Spain Availability: Bandcamp (Free download), Spotify Similar Artists: Mastodon, High On Fire Vocal Style: Yelling After listening to Spanish doomsters Ground's debut EP, creatively titled EP, one might understand the fundamentals of sludge metal. The three tracks presented on this EP are … Continue reading EP – Ground
Lizardia – Lizardia
Image from Bandcamp Year Released: 2014 Genre: Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, Heavy Metal Country: Greece Availability: Bandcamp (free download), YouTube Similar Artists: Trouble, Cathedral, Pentagram Vocal Style: Deep From the nice groove of "Turn to Smoke" to the twelve-minute epic, "Aurora on Jupiter," Greek doom metalers Lizardia present to the world their debut album. Lizardia … Continue reading Lizardia – Lizardia
Nature’s Champion – Cattle
Year Released: 2016 Genre: Sludge Metal, Noise Country: UK Availability: Bandcamp Similar Artists: Big Business, Melvins, Dystopia Vocal Style: Reverb-engrossed yelling After hearing "Tanking the Piss" for the first time, I thought my computer had a virus. Then, upon my second hearing of the song, I saw its true beauty. The bassline is simplistic, yet … Continue reading Nature’s Champion – Cattle
The Metal Void 