FUDGE TUNNEL — Hate Songs in E Minor (review)

FUDGE TUNNEL — Hate Songs in E Minor album cover Album · 1991 · Sludge Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Hate Songs in E Minor" is the debut full-length studio album by UK, Nottingham based metal act Fudge Tunnel. The album was released through Earache Records in August 1991. Fudge Tunnel was formed in 1988 and released the "Sex Mammoth" EP in 1989 and "The Sweet Sound of Excess" EP in 1990.

The material on "Hate Songs in E Minor" is a combination of sludgy riffs, heavy grooves, industrial influences, and nods toward alternative/noise rock. I´m thinking it sounds a bit like a marriage between Helmet and Tool (but not in any way a clone of either). The tracks are often repetitive in nature with riffs and rhythms being repeated quite a lot of times during a track, but it has an intended hypnotic groove effect. The vocals are raw shouted type vocals (often effect laden and relatively low in the mix), but oddly sedated/monotone for that type of vocals.

"Hate Songs in E Minor" features 9 original tracks and two covers of ""Sunshine of Your Love"" by Cream and ""Cat Scratch Fever"" by Ted Nugent. The original tracks are fairly consistent in sound and style, while the two covers of course provide the album with some variation. Fudge Tunnel manage to put their own spin on the covers, and they sound like a natural part of the album. It´s hard to pick highlights to mention, because all the original tracks are pretty similar in quality, but I´d probably mention the opening track "Hate Song" as one of the standout tracks.

I was a bit surprised to learn that "Hate Songs in E Minor" was produced by Colin Richardson (and Fudge Tunnel), but it´s nice to hear him tackle a production like this, and with great success I might add, because the sound production on the album is one of the great assets of the release. Detailed, powerful, and relatively unique sounding. The guitar tone is especially noteworthy, but the distorted bass and the sharp drum sound also deserve a mention.

"Hate Songs in E Minor" proved to be a great success for Fudge Tunnel, who were the talk of the town for a short while in the early 90s, before more or less fading into obscurity again. While a bit more variation between tracks and a bit less repetition of the same compositional ideas during tracks could have made the listening experience a bit more intriguing, Fudge Tunnel had an honest and defined sound, which spoke to quite a few music listeners of their generation. The despair, aggression, noise/industrial elements, and strong focus on groove combined made them unique on the scene at that point in time. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.
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