The Black Swamp - I Am (blown away)

It's been two years since Sludge metal outfit The Black Swamp released Foulness, an absolute belter of an Ep, and shortly after the sonic assault of single Cold Dead Hands. In my previous article about these guys, I was purring over what developments might be on the next release and I finally get to find out. 

Founded in 2012, this band are all about playing live and the recorded work up 'til now has been making me want to sell my home to pay for flights to witness it! These guys present such a party vibe, they've even had a beer named after them!

They will be unleashing the album I Am into your aural galaxy on 29 September. It can be pre ordered on bandcamp and will be available on all your normal download and streaming services.

I AM

Opening with the acoustically led Kin,  a moody track with a spoken peice that reminded me of Weedeater's Dave Collins, is not what I expected, but I liked it, I also knew it i was about to get smacked in the ears. 

And the aural smacks come in the form of Exhale and the first track to be released, Purge. Exhale is A heavy, no nonsense groove ridden track. Purge is an immensely heavy sludge stomper. Early signs show, as I'd hoped, that the vocal performance still has the range and nuances in delivery that make vocalist Stewart Wren a frontman with few peers.

Common Crows, with it's sublime southern sludge, touched by the hand of Skynyrd style is a triumph and an ode to the song writing capabilities of The Black Swamp as a group. 

Crawl opens with a dark lo-fi opening offset by Wren's growl. Musically, it soon catches up with the vocal. It is an interesting, mood driven track, and is probably the hardest track to access for the listener. It is a grower though and it's impossible not to be drawn in by the guitar work. 

Barricade and Ours are are short bursts of energy. Barricade stepped in hardcore delivery is high on impact, whereas Ours is a stomping sludgefest. Two hard hitting, to the point tracks.

It's then that The Black Swamp take us to epicville with Mountain (I Am). And it's a track that has everything. Again Wren shows his vocal range with switching from scream to clean. Musically is heavy and melodic with a great solo and there's even a lovely warm backing vocal display from Caity Solca and a flute section by Melanie Woodley. It is not hard to see why their upcoming tour was named after this rangy, stylish, masterful track. 

Hollowed returns us to firm heavy sludge territory. With riffs it's impossible not to move too it's a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

The album ends with the journey that is Bleed Mother. A performance full of emotion vocally and musically, it is 9 and a half minutes of imagination capturing brilliance and a simply stunning way to close an album.

You sometimes hear albums where the first 4 tracks are amazing and the rest are good but not great, and you call it a good album. This is NOT that album. It ends on higher note than it left with and is overflowing with great tracks. 

I said in my first review that they display a variance of styles and perform them all well. They still have this element, however the delivery is more focused and it is a clear step up for the band from the already excellent Foulness EP. Musically, it is incredibly well performed and written throughout and has one of the best heavy vocal performances I've heard in some time. 

Conclusion

If you're already a fan of The Black Swamp, they're about to become your favourite band. If you haven't really heard them yet there's no better introduction than I Am.  

Even havin heard it, it is impossible not to get excited about the release of I Am. 

Score 5 out of 5

Stand Out Tracks: Common Crows, Mountain (I Am), Mother Bleed

Follow Them: Facebook/Twitter/Instagram

Preorder here

The Black Swamp are:
Stewart Wren - Vocals
Jesse Kenny -Guitar
Grant Scott - Guitar
Rohan Downs - Bass 
Brendan Woodley - Drums. 

Article by Jonathan Radley

Photo Credits: K.C Ward

Tour: Australia Only (wipe those tears from the floor bitch)

Fuckjar and Prisa Mata Split Ep - Chill the Fuckjar Out

The Bands 

I already spoke about Fuckjar here, and I am now firmly a fan of the band. Their brand of heavy sludgy goodness and screamed vocal style is something I'm buying into, big time.

Fuckjar

But what of Prisa Mata? Well the name roughly translates to the rush kills you, which seems to be a saying in Spanish speaking countries to reinforce their laid back lifestyle and say chill the fuck out dude!

Who Are They?

The band members are from England, New Zealand and Spain but are based in London and started jamming in 2014.  They comprise of Jaz on guitar and making general noise, Raquel beating the bejesus out of the drums and Mark on Bass and throaty vocally depths of hell noise!

Style

Their sound reminds me of some of the desert metal/rock from the likes of Kyuss, but dirtier with a topping of sludge and a understated psychedelic direction. They use a gutteral monosylabic scream style vocal which us used more as instrumentation rather than to deliver lyrics.

Prisa Mata

The Match Up

The match up between Fuckjar and Prisa Mata works. Both are extremely heavy, write monumental slow sledgehammer riffs and maintain a screamed vocal throughout.

However, they still have a very definitive personalities. On the whole Prisa Mata keep it slow, and have the deserty Kyuss on steroids with a twist of psychadelia vibe I mentioned before.

Fuckjar on the other hand, have faster vocal delivery, out and out heavyness and schizophrenic moments of brilliance. This makes the split a nice little window into both bands' trajectory.

The Ep

Firstly shout out to the artist, Darwin Drawin, as the cover is frankly brilliant!

Fuckjar's contribution begins with Flesh Engine God. Straight away I'm hit by the improvement in sound quality whilst keeping the same raw, authentic feel. The riff is more complex and stoner-like than the demo and again shows a progression. After the breakdown the song becomes so intensely heavy and slow, with the same screamed vocal offering a juxt opposition. It's a great start and getting me amped for the rest of the EP.

Compliance Through Abuse starts at the same pace, slow, but soon breaks into a hardcore edged onslaught, a different sound to what I've heard from them before but another welcome style.

Carcass for the Hive is a slow, intensely heavy and dark offering. Full of atmosphere, feedback and tom work on the drums, it becomes a chugging almost mechanical onslaught. You can't help but be drawn into its sound and rythm.

I'll Get My Coat rounds off Fuckjar's contribution nicely, as in it's basically a feedback and distortion outro which couldn't really exemplify Fuckjar's general feel any better.

Prisa Mata's first offering, They Live, We Sleep is an Intro peice that follows nicely from Fuckhars outro with some heavy distortion and spoken sample.

This then filters into Soulburner which has a sludgy desert stoner riff. The gutteral monosylabic screaming style is something that makes Prisa Mata instantly identifiable. The quiet/loud dynamic created by switching between just bass and drums and introducing the heavier guitar works well in this track.

Ride the Sky is an 8 minute tripped out bit of brilliance. Dirty and heavy plodding guitars and bass, symbol crashing galore with some fantastic fills. The vocal scream is used to best effect on this track. It ends in psychedelic trip of guitar effects which makes you think there's so much this band is capable of in the psych realm.

I knew I'd like this as soon as I heard the Fuckjar Demo. What's taken it to the next level for me is two things. Hearing the progression of Fuckjar, whilst keeping the rawness of sound I like so much. Secondly it's Prisa Mata turning me on to a vocal style that previously if I'm honest, I may have dismissed, and broadening your musical horizons is never a bad thing. It works so well with the music and adds a valuable dynamic. I'd urge you all to listen to both these bands.

You can get the Ep on bandcamp in 2 seperate parts. Fuckjar's here and Prisa Mata's here for a price you name. As you will see you can also pick up a tape version of the EP for just £4. If you like the EP, surely this is a small investment for the collectors out there.

I hope you enjoy and get behind the bands.

Follow Fuckjar on Facebook

Follow Prisa Mata on Facebook

Fuckjar - A Jar of Wonderful Sludgy Fuck

"Firstly", I thought, "what is a Fuckjar?"

Google soon told me it was a name for a lady who may not need too much negotiating with to convince her it's a good idea to let you dip your wick within her. This may or may not be the origins of Fuckjar's name.

Funnily enough it didn't take too much negotiating for me to want to listen to this band when the Slabdragger guys told me they rock. So maybe I am a music Fuckjar? Upon realising this, the philosophical questions and personal soul searching this name caused me was deep, meaningful and really, well, completely fucking pointless. Fuckjar is a great name though.

Who Are They?

They comprise of Chris on vocals, Ellie on bass, Lorenzo on drums and Ziya on guitar. They are based in London. From trawling through their Facebook page I can't help but get the impression this band are all about having fun, and that this may transpose to live performances (I hope to find this out sooner rather than later). I see sex dolls and horse masks aplenty, what more could a man possibly want?

Style

Fuckjar deliver all the stoner sludgy riffing you could ask for make for with well thought out and slammin' tracks perfect for headbangers universally. An extreme metal style screamed vocal which adds a great intensity to the overall sound.

I will hopefully go on to also tell you about their split release with another awesome band, Prisa Mata, on a separate article but for now I will concentrate on their own Demo which was originally released in February 2015, so I'm a little late to the party, but screw it, if it's good, I'm talking about it.

The Demo

The Demo, which is aptly named "The Demo" opens with an plenty of feedback, a forewarning you're going to get a raw, live sound. And, fuck a jar (of pickled onions, so you remember it), the song Slug is an incredible opening track.

The riff induces head banging instantly. The track slows down into a more Doom laden feel, with a sinister, dark feel. This leads nicely into the faster paced Jorogumo, a floor stomper from start to finish, especially when, at about 40 seconds in, we're treated to a riff which is one of the best I can remember hearing for some time.



Club Serosa builds up layers from the beginning, firstly guitar, then the introduction of bass and drums, giving it meat and drive and then the vocal comes and gives you a kick in the balls. It continues the theme of awesome crunching riffs and throws in a nice little thrash style surprise for good measure.

The next track, Crushing Your Throne is Doomy offering in its style song on the release, after a minute and a half the track is played slow, heavy, sludgy and intense. The guitar tone and feedback as well as the usual vocal style still makes it feel like an aggressive onslaught.

The demo finishes with the psychotic, fast paced Old Fred, another stomper which in parts it reminds me of a more extreme (and thus more to my taste) System of a Down.

This demo is probably one of the heaviest releases I've written about in terms of music and vocal performance.  And it's these elements I love most about it.

Musically it is raw, but accomplished and well thought out.  Some of the riffs showcased are simply sublime to my ear. The vocal delivery adds aggression and intensity that adds a great contrast to some of the music.

Fuckjar incorporate a mix of styles such as sludge, doom, groove and at times thrashy elements really well. Considering this is a name your price download on Bandcamp, it is an absolute must have. Here is an opportunity to get behind a brilliant UK metal band, at a relatively early stage of their career, and follow them as they become more and more accomplished and appreciated, which I believe they will.

Follow Them on Facebook 

Slabdragger - Rise of the Sludgecrushers

I bought this album initially as something I might like to write about. I knew I'd like it as I'd heard some of it and all of Slabdragger's brilliant first release, Regress, on Youtube. Then I changed my mind and thought, "no I'm just going to enjoy this as a fan".

I knew by the last note of the first song that I couldn't just enjoy it, I had to write something.

It's fair to say Slabdragger are more established than the subjects of most of my articles and certainly don't need my endorsement, but ultimately the aim of this blog is to spread the word about the music I love, and listening to this album I'd think these fellas made a list of everything I want to hear in an album an made it for me. (Cheers guys). I hope to reach some people who haven't listened before and turn them onto this band.

So without further ado...

SLABDRAGGER

Who Are They?

They are made up of Sam Thredder on Guitar and Vocals. Yusuf Tary on Bass and Vocals and Jack Newnham on Drums (the drums on the recording are by Severin Black who has since departed). They hail from Croydon.

It is believed in local folk lore the Gods placed Slabdragger in Croydon to atone for the borough spawning the monolithic cock bag that is Dane Bowers and the disappointment brought upon the English football team of fellow Croydonite Roy Hodgson. It is said upon release of their third album Dane will be replaced as the benchmark of popularised mediocraty by a member of One Direction and England will appoint a successful manager.

Please don't make us wait 5 years this time!

Style and Sound

Doomy, Sludge metal in the vein of bands such as Sleep, Yob, Sabbath (obviously) with a nod to the mighty Pink Floyd in some of the interesting sounds used.

The full bodied, warm, heavy guitar sound is amongst the most satisfying I've heard in the genre as are the range of vocal style used. There have deep roars, shrieks and clean vocals, all used to good effect. There is very strong drum work and some nice bass solo's add to the overall quality of the sound.

Rise Of The Dawncrusher

First off there's the album art provided by the supremely talented Jimmy Pearson. I'm a huge fan of thoughtful album art and this is the best I've seen in some time.  It really sets the tone for the sci-fi adventure concept of the albums songs perfectly.

To say the album is epic is no understatement. If you do invest the time and sit down with headphones or take a long drive, you will not be disappointed. You, take note of the lyrics and you will discover the story and start to appreciate how the music is also used to tell this story.

Each track is a satisfying (cosmic) journey of sledgehammer heavy doom riffs and excellent and variant vocal delivery. It's slow, ponderous and bluesy in parts and fast and aggressive in others.

Whilst 4 of the 5 songs are over 10 minutes, what is refreshing about this album, when compared to some others who produce long songs, is that at no point does any song lose its way or give you the impression there's something been put in purely to fatten the track out. You can immerse yourself in them and wonder where the last 10 minutes have gone.

The wonderful warm bluesy opening of Mercury Blues draws you in and the track soon becomes an all out sludge fest, with riffs that head banging was made for. The pace increases towards the end which leads nicely into the more aggressive Evacuate.  I get elements of southern sludge such as Black Tusk in this track, which is a very good thing. Its the shortest song on the album, but it doesn't lack in impact or delivery.

Shrine of Debauchery's opening uses guitars and additional sounds to create a sinister cosmic atmosphere. This fits well with the theme of the lyrics which seem to be portray some form of disturbed alien cult practising their horrific rituals. Is it wrong that I love these lyrics? Probably. Anyway, if ever there was a case for how well musical delivery can depict lyrical theme, this song should be Exhibit A.

Dawncrusher Rising is a wonderful brutal onslaught that has a sublime breakdown and drum work at around 9 and a half minutes. This provides the theme for the rest of the song.

The album ends with Implosion Rites which starts with a plodding riff interspersed with heavy sections with deep guttural vocals. A great breakdown 7 minutes in introduces the second part of the track, a heavier section followed by a spaced out bluesy solo. This picks up pace before taking us back to the opening riff. Weighing in at 17 and a half minutes this really is an epic, well thought out ending to an incredible album.

My musically astute 3 year old asked me, when playing the first song, "is this Rock 'n' Roll," so I told her yes it is. She then demanded I play it again when it finished. It's the only CD I've played her that she's been remotely interested in  (although she is partial to a bit of The Trooper by Iron Maiden). I don't know if this little story is a sign of it's quality, but it certainly endears the album to me even more than the undoubted quality of its content alone.

If you don't at least buy this release (you really should), you should give it a listen in its entirety on Youtube. You will not be disappointed.

Buy it: Bandcamp/Label 

Follow them: Facebook/Twitter

Label: Holy Roar (check out the subscriptions via bandcamp, great value if you like their output)
((I do not work for Holy Roar, it's just good value and a great idea))

Thanks for reading.

Montezuma's Revenge - From Russia With Sludge (and a Bong)

Who are Montezuma's Revenge?

Montezuma's Revenge are Ilya Boots, Vladimir Yurchenko and Yura Kalyaamm.

They are also not the diaahorea suffered by visitors to Mexico, although they share the name and sludgy consistency, they are most definately not shit!

What they are is a stonerific sludge band from Moscow. Although to describe them just as this doesn't really encompass their complete sound.

Now I know all music is art, but I don't think Zakk Wylde sits and considers how he is going to actualize his artistic vision in sound. I think he writes a good riff, records a "piss in your face" solo and he's done, and there's nothing wrong with this, in fact the man's a legend.

However, these guys are putting artistic thought into their compositions. It's not over bearing, or as we in England would say "arty farty", but it's there enough to give it an interesting direction. What this brings to the table is some fantastic and interesting journeys in the music and lyrics that constantly alerts the listener's attention. They have an artistic edge that sets them apart.

And speaking and art.....

Something, apart from the music, that I sincerely appreciate about this band is the clear importance hey put into the audible AND visual artistry.

In the digital music age the visual artistry of an album is often lost. Even on physical album art a lot of bands seem to follow a pre determined formula. This is not the case here. On their first LP, Key to the Abyss, they have used the considerable talent of Moscow based artist Andrey Davidosky, who has created a visually stunning sleeve cover and pages which compliments their sound perfectly.

Key to the Abyss

As I said before , if you're expecting straight sludge, you're not getting it here, but what you will get is the awesome riffs comparable to the likes of Down, with some brilliant additional soundscapes and tempo changes.

The album kicks off, well in chaos, off with "Chaos Reins", a song with an intro deserving of it's name and that incorporates some classic sludge riffs with doom influenced breakdowns and some brilliant layered lead guitar lines.

The title track, "Key to the Abyss", sounds almost like a tip of he hat to Down in parts with it's style and vocal delivery, however they never lose their own clear identity and verve.

Some songs display a range of tempos and styles that make them very interesting. "Fast Food Bushido" goes from speed to sludge to speed then it becomes almost a Slayeresque thrash number towards the end.

"Anti-Entity", my favourite track on the album, also has variant tempos and it incorporates a sublime passage of stoner rock sounds which was joyous to me upon first hearing.

"Little Gods of Disruption" brings in hardcore elements in the verses with the drums driving the song before reverting to the captivating guitar lead lines they do so well.

"Sleeping Beauty" is the most out and out sludge number, with a reverby lead that creates an almost Tool like atmosphere. Lyrically I get the impression this is referencing Russia as the Sleeping Beauty, but you may draw your own conclusions. Either way it is packed with metaphor and an interesting song lyrically and musically.

"Godfather, I'm In Love" has the most addictive riff on the record with a rich full sound it's impossible not to want to move to.

Finally, "Dead Frost" with its sinister soundscapes throughout. This is the bands epic, but they're not so self indulgent to drag it out to the point where it becomes boring. The accompanying video was animated by Waldez Sneg of the group of artists Rotten Fantom, yet another nod to the importance of visual art to accompany their music.

Throughout this record I have to disturb my pigeon style appreciative head nod several times to stop and take note and admire some of the ideas and directions, before reconvening (and looking like a knob).

Whilst good from first listen, it grows even better on the ear with further listens. You discover bits you'd not heard before or hear a new lyric you like which gives the album a fresh feel with each listen. You can stream the album below.

It's time to get behind the Moscow Metallers, a band who have shared the stage with the super powers of Down, Crowbar and next month will be supporting the Sludge juggernauts EyeHateGod, are surely on the cusp of something big themselves, with their artistic and inventive take on the genre.

The good news is they're in the final processes of completing a new album so there will be even more music to enjoy very soon.

You can buy Key To the Abyss digitally and on C.D here . Digital download is just $5 (around £3) but, if you like the album its worth having the C.D, to have the quality art as well. There is also an interesting free EP of a slightly different style and singles on bandcamp to download. Go get

From Russia With Sludge (and a bong).

Follow them:
Twitter and Instagram: @mntzm 
Montezuma's Facebook

Check out the Label's Facebook and Bandcamp

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