Ever present is a plethora of artists attempting to imprint their mark on the diverse world of extreme metal, ensuring that the wide umbrella genre is never short of fresh meat. Naturally, this also means that saturation is unavoidable, resulting in many efforts inevitably slipping under the radar and fading into obscurity. Athenian blackened death-sludge outfit Wothrosch is one such artist launching its first assault on the world with its debut album Odium, released to the unwashed masses two weeks into 2023 showcasing great musicianship, fantastic production and a record which is enjoyable but sadly, not too memorable.

Odium is impressive in many ways. The mix of mid-pace sludge riffs grinding away underneath creepy tremolo-picked leads provides an ominous backdrop and creates a truly ghastly and asphyxiating atmosphere assisted by vocals that switch between brutish sludge roars, guttural death growls and screams that sound like a wild beast being subjected to the most barbaric torture methods imaginable. The musicianship on offer is top notch with a special mention to the drummer who effortlessly swapping between rapid blast-beats and slow doomy passages, proves themselves highly versatile. The production is remarkably grandiose for the debut album of a little-known band and gives the album a nice sheen without being too clinical.

In contrast, Odium is plagued by a shortfall in variety and a surplus of overly lengthy cuts. By the halfway stage, the magnificent vibes projected at the start begin to wane and the album succumbs to stagnation with individual tracks becoming indistinguishable from each other. The ferocious closer “Reign” being an exception, just about managing to bring the album above mediocrity. While Wothrosch may have cooked up a variety of metal influences into a tasty sonic recipe, a distinct lack of deviation from that specific sound is enough of a stumbling block that consuming the full portion in its entirety is a challenge. If the band were to combine the tight performances and fastidious production with a more focused approach to songwriting, they could easily prevent themselves from being one of the countless highly talented outfits who do not cut the proverbial mustard.

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Attribution:

https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/86160/Wothrosch-Odium/

Chat Pile is an Oklahoma based noise rock/sludge metal quartet who's debut studio album "God’s Country" became available to the masses in the summer of 2022 after having been the subject of much hype in alternative music circles. After the initial listen, one feels like a corkscrew has been inserted into each ear and violently twisted. What has one just experienced? The answer is a savage and exasperated assault on a broken western society, transported to the ear canals with unprecedented levels of rage. While lyrical content concerning the failings of society is a well-trodden path with each new endeavour having potential to project yet another rehashed and redundant message, God’s Country does anything but.

You might ask what prevented God’s Country from falling into the rehash trap. It all comes down to the earnestness with which the message is delivered – no generic “fuck the government” material can be found here. Vocalist Raygun Busch launches a wide-ranged and carefully calculated attack on several aspects of modern American society which is both unapologetically scathing and depressingly accurate with its content. Amongst the themes of homelessness, mass meat production and the disgraceful condition of the environment are pockets of truly harrowing material in relation to the ongoing mental health crisis but rather than giving off the impression of wallowing, the overall message is one of downright rage, giving the record authenticity and ultimately, lyrical relevance.

While there is nothing overly complex musically speaking, the genre-fusion on offer here more than compensates for those who crave something less simplistic. Ferocious sludge and noise rock form the base of the musical palate, supported by touches of post-hardcore and the occasional groove-laden, angular nu-metal passage. The heavier portions of the musical fabric are juxtaposed by the inclusion of gothic and 80s post-punk elements which add a sense of gloom and if that wasn’t enough, the whole experience is shrouded in a cold industrial atmosphere.

A grotesque and blood-curdling release, God’s Country brings something new to the party without straying too far from its sludge roots. Unique yet familiar, harrowing yet humbling, Chat Pile have produced something truly special.

New and obscure sludge releases are something I have begrudgingly grown to approach with a certain degree of trepidation - a fear of being greeted with a bland sixty minutes of overly atmospheric music and a distinct lack of memorable riffs. Enter Danish three-piece outfit Offernat who (with their independently released debut) thankfully reinstate the almighty sludge riff – an especially pleasant surprise on a release containing only four tracks, the shortest of which still exceeds a duration of ten minutes. Having said that, All Colours Retract still boasts its fair share of atmospheric qualities but rather than reaching saturation point, the band has approached this with an optimal degree of curation, resulting in a wild ride of metal which fuses 00s progressive sludge with elements of doom, black metal and post-rock/metal.

Opener “Inside the Fog” wastes no time in smacking you in the face with a series of lurching, pelagic riffs, similar to the oceanic brutality of early Mastodon. The track builds in intensity as it reaches the halfway point of the +10-minute duration, developing an almost insurmountable feeling before crashing down to the ocean floor and erupting again with near overwhelming levels of feedback and screeching effects. More Mastodon influence is featured on the epic “The Winds” which showcases some slow yet intricate, atonal riffs, akin to the sounds explored on the 2004 masterpiece Leviathan. Post-rock and black metal influences play a significant role in the overall sound of the remainder of the album. All tracks besides the opener contain strong elements of both genres with the aforementioned epic “The Winds” opening with rapid blast beats and thick, atmospheric guitars while the middle section possesses qualities akin to the lighter side of Glaswegian post-rock titans Mogwai. “Harvest Return” and “Caught in Existence” both switch between suffocating riffs and relaxing clean guitar and bass melodies but over the course of their combined length of 23 minutes, the album descends to a bit of an anti-climax after the commendable quality of the first two offerings.

While musically diverse, the vocal department is stubbornly similar throughout. The overall tone shares a parity with the harsh vocal delivery a la Tom Araya of thrash metal legends Slayer and to a lesser extent, Lars-Göran Petrov of Entombed fame. While it does suit the music well, I was surprised to learn that lead vocal duties are shared between all three members of Offernat as this was not readily apparent to my ears. Cohesivity is another department where the band fall somewhat. As pleasant as the post-rock passage is on “The Winds”, its placement seems somewhat disjointed with the rest of the album and doesn’t slot in as nicely as the similar passages on the other tracks.

A worthwhile listen to any fan of sludge, All Colours Retract demonstrates a return of the glorious and all too absent sludge riff while maintaining a healthy atmospheric quality from the more modern facets of the genre. Despite the disappointment in the decline in quality in the latter half, Offernat are certainly more than worth keeping an eye on.

[Originally written for Sputnikmusic]

Orogenic processes fast-forwarded while the stricken lay dying...

The fifth full-length offering from Liverpudlian doom metal machine Conan shows no sign of deviating from spirit-crushing, despair-filled doom metal of the most ferocious degree. Clocking in at over 50 minutes, Conan’s latest is their longest album to date and is somewhat a return to their older style, centring the structure around lengthier cuts as opposed to the shorter, punchier tracks featured on 2018’s impressive Existential Void Guardian. However, there are still pockets of aggressive sludge here – such as the punk-tinged “Ritual of Anonymity” which contains some of the album's faster-paced sections. The aggression in the middle is bookended by two epochs of slow-moving, catastrophic doom which despite their length, do not outstay their welcome and are the strongest portions of music on offer here.

There are two things that Conan’s music always brings to mind: barbaric battles and geological processes. Opening track “A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots” is so destructively heavy and dense that it manages to replicate how I imagine the collision of continents would sound if occurring in 10 minutes rather than over a period of millions of years. The usual pulverising doom riffs are nuanced with some nice touches of post-metal adding stylistic diversity. Conjured in the mind are images of thick, slow-moving lava snaking its way down the side of a volcano as pyroclastic bombs descend from the ash-obscured sky above, reducing everything in their path to cinders.

In addition to the strong structure, the album impresses from a production perspective. The viscosity of the guitar and bass tone is unfathomable while still allowing the drums to shine through with crystal clarity. It’s obvious that Conan has lost none of its forbidding atmospheric quality and on Evidence of Immortality, some additional features develop this further. Organs are utilised to great effect in the funeral doom closer “Grief Sequence”, providing another layer of ominous atmosphere as the brooding, monolithic guitar chords gradually edge the listener towards their impending death following the aftermath of a medieval bloodbath. The sinister atmosphere intensifies as the song (and album) crawls to an end, assisted by the inclusion of warping flange techniques on the organs, delivering a fever dream-like sound as if the stricken listener is slipping into a delusional state as their life approaches its inevitable terminus.

Conan has delivered yet another high-quality lump of barbarically heavy doom metal and have once again re-cemented themselves as a prime act of the genre by adding another pillar to their legacy – one with the utmost consistency in quality, and undoubtedly, longevity.

Conjurer is arguably amongst the most exciting and most hyped bands in the UK metal scene today, receiving raving reviews from big players in the alternative music media. While this praise is fully warranted, 2016’s EP “I” has been overshadowed and undeservedly left behind.

Opener “Behold the Swine” achieves plenty in its 6-minute run-time. Punishingly heavy riffs lurch underneath anguished growls and screams that come from the depths of hell. The guitar interplay between Dan Nightingale and Brady Deeprose exhibited here is fantastic – filthy, sludgy riffs, rapid, intricate, thrashy riffs and beautiful clean atmospheric guitar work all play off each other to create a truly monstrous track. As the journey through the EP continues, it becomes apparent just how diverse a palate Conjurer has at this stage of infancy. Post metal, black metal are major influences not to mention the deep grooves which help add maintain rhythmic interest throughout the two tracks which make up the albums centre.

Aside from the combination of barbaric brutality and atmospheric beauty, Conjurer’s other trademark has always been one of overhanging misery and hopelessness. The vile despair projected by the music is perfectly emulated by song titles such as “A Chasm Forged in Dread and Disarray”. The most wretched point on the album is the crushing doom-fest that is the closer “Frail”. “I” also impresses structurally, squeezing touches from a plethora of metal sub-genres into something that feels less a collection of songs but more a single cohesive 23-minute track, leaving the listener’s soul obliterated to dust by the end.

The early EPs of artists are sadly often forgotten by all but the hardcore fanbase and despite Conjurer having evidently developed their songwriting chops significantly with the release of 2018’s “Mire” and further still with 2022s “Páthos”, “I” staunchly stands proudly as the solid foundations for what has rapidly elevated to become a powerhouse of progressive, blackened, post-sludge. A must check for those who have enjoyed the subsequent albums.